Eating Seasonally: Chicken, White Bean, & Sweet Potato Stew

Here's the recipe I promised the other day. I'll try to be as specific as possible, but let me know if you have questions. Oh, and I didn't snap any pictures--so it's just text today. :-)

Ingredients:
olive oil, salt, pepper to taste
2 slices bacon, chopped
4 chicken thighs (bone-in, skin on)
1 small onion, diced
2-3 carrots, diced
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1/4 C white wine
3-4 sprigs of thyme
1 C dried white beans (soaked in advance)
2 C chicken stock
14 oz. canned diced tomatoes
1 sweet potato, diced
2 T fresh parsley, chopped

1. Heat a drizzle of oil in dutch oven over medium. Brown the bacon and remove with a slotted spoon.
2. Season chicken with salt & pepper, and place, skin-side down, in dutch oven. Cook until golden brown, then flip and cook 2-3 minutes more. Remove from pan. When cool to the touch, remove skin.
3. Meanwhile, add onion & carrot to pan. Season lightly with salt and pepper and cook until tender. Stir in garlic and cook another minute.
4. Deglaze the pan by pouring in white wine and using wooden spoon to scrap up brown bits.
5. Add thyme, beans, broth, tomatoes, and sweet potato. Return the skinned chicken pieces to the pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and summer (covered) for 30-40 minutes.
6. Remove the chicken pieces and continue simmering the stew for another 15-20 minutes (until beans are tender). When the chicken is cool to the touch, remove the meat from the bones, shred it, and return it to the pot.
7. Ensure that chicken is hot and veggies are tender. Stir in parsley, remove from heat, and serve. Sprinkle the bacon on top of the bowls full of stew.

Notes:
-I imagine this would taste good with any part(s) of chicken, I just had thighs on hand.
-I understand if you're skeptical about the sweet potato. I was! But next time I actually might add 2 of them, it worked SO well with the dish.
-Of course, the cold weather makes this a great seasonal dish. In addition, all the vegetables & herbs in this dish were things I had on hand, fresh, from local sources because they store so well (dried beans and root veggies). Eating locally at this time of year is certainly harder, but not impossible. I think the only thing in my stew that was not local was the tomatoes (I didn't can my own this year, as tomatoes came in season SO late this summer. I'm hoping to do that next year!), salt, pepper, and olive oil. Oh, and this bottle of wine might not have been local--but there's certainly local options.
-Oh, and once again--this is great with fresh bread. A full, hearty meal to keep you going on a cold day!

Comments

Teresa said…
Think this will go on the menu this week. Thanks for the idea