Chicken Stew

We love to serve this cozy, comforting stew on chilly nights alongside some fresh bread. It makes a great meal and is like a warm hug in a bowl. So good!

Course Soup

Cuisine American

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 40

Total Time 55

Servings

Calories 413kcal

Author Karly Campbell

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cracked pepper
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup chopped carrots
1 cup chopped celery
1 medium onion diced
5 cloves garlic minced
5 tablespoons flour
6 cups chicken broth
1 pound waxy potatoes chopped into bite-sized pieces
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon thyme
½ teaspoon basil
½ teaspoon paprika
¼ teaspoon dried rosemary
2 bay leaves
1 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup heavy cream

Instructions

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a dutch oven or large saucepan over medium high heat.
While the oil heats, season the chicken with the salt and pepper. Add seasoned chicken thighs to the dutch oven and brown on each side for about 3 minutes each. Remove chicken to a cutting board and roughly chop into bite sized pieces.
Melt the butter in the dutch oven and add the carrots, celery, and onion. Sauté until soft, about 5 minutes, while scraping up any browned bits off the bottom of the pot. If necessary, you can add a splash of water to help with scraping up the flavorful brown bits.
Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more.
Add the flour to the vegetables and continue to cook, stirring often, for two minutes. The flour will coat all the ingredients and it will be very thick.
Add in the chicken broth, potatoes, tomato paste, oregano, thyme, basil, paprika, rosemary, and bay leaves. Return the chopped chicken to the pot along with any juices on the cutting board.
Cover the pot with a lid and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to a simmer and keep the lid askew. Simmer for 15 minutes or until the potatoes are soft.
Add in the peas and cream. Heat through and then taste and adjust with more salt and pepper, if needed.
Remove bay leaves and serve.

Notes

Chicken thighs are very flavorful and work great in this recipe, but chicken breasts can be used as well.

The brown bits left behind from the chicken searing is called fond, and it is very flavorful. Moisture added to the pan via butter and water released from the vegetables allows you to scrape off the fond.

When the flour is added and cooked in the pot, it can also brown on the bottom of the pan, which is ok, but you do not want it to burn. If necessary, you can add a splash of water to prevent burning. Again, when the chicken broth is added in the next step it will allow you to scrape up these brown bits.

Make sure you use a waxy type of potato that can retain its shape during cooking such as new potatoes, fingerlings, Yukon gold etc. Starchy potatoes like Russets, will fall apart during the cooking process.

Nutrition