Pretty standard stuff here today, but who doesn’t love a simple chicken stew, am I right?! Although my plan was never to make this today. The tomato sauce I used as the base was made the day before and was meant for spaghetti, what else, right?? The super greens were the consequence of lacking parsley and needing something green for the photos, I kid you not! And I used RUSSET potatoes IN A STEW! (blasphemy!) but I didn’t have the waxy friendlier ones in the fridge. I work with what I have! I never thought combining these components in the most accidental of ways would lead to a super-tasty meal worth sharing with you all!

Chicken Thighs.

This step is optional, but golden proteins produce a deeper flavor. You can skip this step if you’re in a hurry, but I will give you a couple of suggestions if you do have the time. I used chicken thighs because I’m making a stew. Dark meat handles heat way better. It does not dry out easily, and it has a nice fat content. In fact, I don’t even use oil to sear the chicken. I rely on its own fat and a nonstick soup pot.

I worked with skinless/boneless chicken thighs to speed things up but I would be willing to slow down otherwise. Chicken skin, bones, that’s all collagen gold and I always consider them in my cooking. It does take longer to cook these but it’s well worth it.

I browned the thighs whole until golden on both sides in the pot I will later use for the stew (I don’t want any brown fond to be lost in the process). I didn’t add any salt because salt causes water to be released, and that makes browning harder and causes more oil spatter. It’s a small thing, and honestly, you can salt the chicken and get the same result, maybe it’ll take a bit longer and be a bit messier.

Once you remove the chicken thighs from the stove, allow them to rest and come to room temperature. Make sure you catch any liquid released so you can add it back to the stew later (it’s the little things). Cut the chicken into bite-sized cubes and set aside.

Tomato Sauce Base.

This is an all-vegetable basic tomato sauce. One diced onion, about 10 colves of garlic and 4 tablespoons of tomato paste. Cook the onions and the garlic in olive oil over medium-high heat until lightly golden colored. Add a pinch of salt to speed up the cooking. In this case, you want the veggies to release water quicker.

Add the tomato paste and get some browning on this as well. Deepens the flavor and the color quite a bit. I never skip over this. After you have gotten some browning and the color of that paste is looking darker, add about a cup of water. Cover the pan/pot and allow to cook for about 20 minutes over medium-low heat. It should be simmering, not boiling. You can add herbs, etc, here. Up to you. If you’re using fresh basil or parsley, maybe wait until the end of the cooking time to add it the flavor is kept fresh and strong.

Remove from the stove and adust the salt until you’re happy.

Wilted Super Greens.

In the same pot you cooked the chicken and using the chicken fat that’s in there go ahead and add the super greens. I don’t know what they call it super greens but it’s simply baby char, baby kale and baby spinach. I don’t bother chopping anything here. Straight into the pot, maybe a splash of water or white wine to help the wilting process. Add salt as well. Cook until the veggies are super soft.

Steamed Potatoes.

I usually cook the potatoes in the stew liquid but this time I decided to steam the potatoes separately because I wasn’t sure if I was adding them to the stew or making mashed potatoes. I ended up doing both Used half in the stew and half for mashed potatoes (that I used the next day for something else).

Peel and cube the potatoes. If possible, use waxy potatoes but I only had russet and they almost desinegrated into the stew but that also made the stew thick and delicious so a win-win either way.

Add the potatoes to a pot and cover them with water. Add about a Tbsp of salt and bring to a simmer. Cook until the potatoes are soft. Strain the liquid away (you could keep some potato water handy if you need to add some to the stew later). Set the potatoes aside.

The Mixup.

Notice that all the component of this stew have been cooked separately which is kinda the opposite of what we should do when making a stew BUT rest assured that I’m keeping this in mind! You’ll have more control this way.

Add a splash of fish sauce (umami amplifier), mix it all up now with confidence, and allow to rest for an hour or two before serving. Reheat if needed AND if you want maximum flavor development, keep the stew in the fridge overnight and enjoy the magic the next day! Overnight aging in the fridge helps develop that classic deep stew flavor that might be missing if served right after being cooked. Mahalo!!!

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