Ingredients:
4 Tbsp. Extra-virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp. Butter
3 Tbsp. Extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup all purpose flour (for roux)
8 skinless, bone-in chicken thighs
3 skinless chicken breasts or 12 chicken white meat strips
1 cup yellow onion, medium dice
3 ribs celery, medium dice
2 tsp. Fresh garlic, chopped
1/2 cup fresh bell peppers, medium dice
4 cups canned chicken broth
3/4 cup white wine (Pinot Grigio preferred)
1chicken bouillon cube, dissolved in wine
2 largefresh tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1 can petite diced tomatoes (14 oz. Size)
3 bay leaves
1 tsp. Frank Davis Poultry Seasoning
2 tsp. Frank Davis Sprinkling Spice Seasoning
6 mediumred potatoes, peeled and quartered
2 cans cut green beans, washed and drained
1 tsp. Salt and black pepper to taste
1/4 cup finely minced parsley for garnish
Shredded Parmesan Cheese for topping
First, roll the chicken thighs and breast pieces in the olive oil.
Then saut? them a few pieces at a time in a 12-inch skillet (just don t overcrowd them). When the have all seared, remove them to a platter for a while. In the meantime, drop into the skillet the butter and the additional oil.
Then slowly sprinkle in the flour and whisk it into a dark roux.
When it reaches the right color, drop in all the seasoning veggies to halt the cooking (keep in mind that the residual heat will cook the veggies).
At this point, pour in the chicken broth, the white wine (with the bouillon cube dissolved), the fresh-diced tomatoes, the can of tomatoes, the bay leaves, the poultry seasoning, and the sprinkling spice.
Hold off on adding any salt and pepper at this stage (there may be enough salt in the sprinkling spice and the chicken broth to satisfy your taste and you can always adjust the salt and pepper to your taste later).
Then bring the stock to a boil but quickly reduce the heat and simmer it for about 20 minutes so that it can develop full flavor.
Now drop in all the chicken pieces and cook them over a low heat for about 45 minutes to an hour (or until they become tender just try to keep from overcooking them so that the meat doesn t fall off the bone).
Then, about a half hour before the chicken is done, add in the raw potatoes, stir them into the mix gently, and cook them over low heat until fork tender.
Finally, gently fold in the green beans until uniform and simmer the entire pot of ingredients until everything is heated through. Now adjust for your salt and pepper if necessary. When you re ready to eat, serve the stew piping hot in deep soup bowls alongside a pan of Southern buttered cornbread (make according to the package directions).
Then sprinkle each bowl full with a pinch of minced parsley and a handful of shredded Parmesan.
-----------
CHEF S NOTES:
The seasoning veggies do not have to be finely diced for this dish. Because this is a stew you want them to have some integrity and identification.
If you decide to use chicken drumsticks instead of thighs, be sure to skin the drumsticks before adding them to the stew, otherwise the stew will end up too oily.
This is another one of those dishes that gets richer and better tasting the next day.
Hint: Just because the stew contains potatoes (and even though your Maw Maw told you that you should never serve two starches with one meal), it s perfectly okay with me if you want to ladle this over a stack of steamed rice.
And before you start writing and calling and e-mailing, there is no special recipe for the pan of cornbread! Simply follow the directions on the back of the package of the brand you buy.
?
