For me, this stew is comfort in a bowl. The recipe is adapted from Cooking Light, and it has quickly become a family favorite, making regular appearances on our dinner table and in lunch thermoses the next day. The dish starts simply enough with cubes of boneless chicken thighs which are moister and more flavorful than white meat. A combination of butternut squash and parsnips take the place of the customary potatoes and bring both a sweet and nutty flavor to the dish. But it doesn’t end there. Both sage and ginger add complexity to the dish which is finished off with crisp cider and a generous amount of tart apples which ups the flavor quotient. There are a lot of flavors in this dish but they complement each other with no two bites tasting the same. It encourages you to go back for more. And more…. And more…..
CHICKEN, APPLE & BUTTERNUT SQUASH STEW
- Sprinkle the chicken with 1/2 teaspoon of the salt and 1/4 teaspoon of the pepper.
- Add one tablespoon of the oil to a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
- Add half of chicken to the pan and sauté 6 minutes or until browned.
- Remove chicken from pan. Repeat procedure with remaining chicken.
- Reduce the heat to medium and add the remaining oil to the pan.
- Add the onion, sage and ginger and cook for 2 minutes.
- Stir in the squash and parsnip then cook for an additional 2 minutes.
- Sprinkle the vegetables with the flour and cook for one minutes.
- Stir in the cider and chicken stock, scraping the bottom of the pan to loosen any browned bits.
- Stir in the chicken, the remaining salt and the remaining pepper.
- Bring to a simmer, reduce the heat and cook, partially covered for 25 minutes.
- Stir in the apples and cook for 5 minutes before serving.
Serves 4
Tagged: apple cider, apples, chicken, ginger, parsnips
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