This weekend, we had a lot of this . . .

. . . which called for a Cozy, Rich, Delicious dinner!

This Chicken and Vegetable Stew is seasoned with plenty of herbs and made deliciously rich with the addition of some white wine. I used Sauvignon Blanc, but any dry white wine would be great. There’s a lot of room for flexibility in this recipe, so feel free to omit or add any vegetables. Dried herbs would also work fine. I had fresh rosemary and parsley on hand, and I dove into my spice drawer for the rest.

It starts with boneless, skinless chicken thighs. Personally, I prefer to use thighs whenever I can. I find them to be more moist with a richer flavor than chicken breasts. I wanted to bulk up the veggie content, so I used onion, carrots, celery, garlic, baby red potatoes, fresh butternut squash, mushrooms, zucchini, and peas. Yep – LOTS of veggies! I was so happy I had some butternut squash on hand . . . it added a really nice sweetness to the stew.

I made mine on the stove in a heavy Dutch oven. It could also be made in a slow cooker, but I really enjoyed the way it turned out in the Dutch oven. I added the veggies at intervals to keep them a bit crisp and bright, and that made the stew taste slow-cooked-rich and fresh at the same time. (Chef’s kiss!)

Start by sauteing three diced boneless skinless chicken thighs in extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) and a little salt and pepper. I used nice, big thighs! Once the chicken is lightly browned, remove it with a slotted spoon and let it hang out on a plate while you start the veggies.

While chicken is browning, rough chop one yellow onion, 3 carrots, and 2-3 stalks of celery. Add 5 cloves of pressed garlic. (I used the frozen garlic cubes from Trader Joe’s . . . huge time-saver, by the way!)

After you’ve removed browned chicken, add those veggies to the pot with a bit more EVOO. Cook them until softened ~ about 5 minutes, then add 1/4 cup of flour. You’ll want to cook the flour with the veggie for about 3 minutes before slowly adding your chicken stock and white wine. The method here is add, stir, add, stir . . . (scraping and incorporating all the browned bits on the bottom of the pan) until all liquid has been added and you have a nice thick sauce in your pot.

At this point, you’ll add your fresh herbs, add the chicken back in, and add 1 cup each of diced butternut squash and baby red potato. Bring your pot up to a light boil, put the lid on it, lower the heat to low setting, and let your stew cook for about 30 minutes. You’ll want to give it a stir, scraping the bottom every 15 minutes.

Now it’s time to add your next veggies – in intervals! I added my mushrooms first and let them cook for about 15 minutes. Then, I added the zucchini and let that go another 5 minutes, before I added my thawed peas, which only needed about 2 minutes. This method ensured that my veggies did not get mushy. They were bright, fresh, and had just the right bite to them! I put my chopped fresh parsley in just before serving.

We enjoyed this cozy dinner in front of the fire, and it was divine! We each had a big bowl, and there were plenty of leftovers for lunches the last couple of days. Gareth typically hates leftovers. I don’t know how we’ve stayed married for 31 years, because I love them! But in the case of this stew, he was so excited that we had extra for lunches . . . go figure!

Chicken & White Wine Stew

Loaded with lots of vegetables and fresh herbs!

Print Recipe

Prep Time 40

Cook Time 1 20

Ingredients Equipment Notes

Ingredients

3 large boneless, skinless chicken thighs, diced – 1 inch
3 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil – divided
1 medium yellow onion – diced
5 cloves finely chopped garlic
3 peeled carrots – 1/2 inch diagonally sliced
2-3 stalks of celery – diced
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 cups chicken stock
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon fresh or dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
2 whole dried bay leaves
1 cup diced baby red potatoes
1 cup diced butternut squash
1-2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
1 small zucchini, diced
1 cup frozen green peas, thawed
1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley

Equipment

1 Dutch Oven

Notes

Add 1 Tbsp EVOO to Dutch oven or large heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add diced chicken thighs, salt and pepper to taste. Saute until chicken is lightly browned, about 8-10 minutes.
Remove chicken from pot with slotted spoon, place on plate. Keep chicken nearby until it’s time to re-add it to pot.
Add 1 Tbsp EVOO to your pot, then add diced onion, carrots, celery, and garlic. Saute over medium heat until vegetables are soft (about 5 minutes)
Add 1 final Tbsp of EVOO to your pot, then stir in 1/4 cup of flour. Cook over medium heat while stirring for 2-3 minutes.
Slowly add chicken stock and wine, while stirring and scraping up any browned bits. This will form a thick sauce.
Add chicken back in, as well as diced potatoes, butternut squash, Worcestershire and herbs. Add a bit more salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a light boil, then cover pot with lid and reduce heat to low.
Allow pot to simmer for 30 minutes, stirring and scraping bottom every 10-15 minutes to prevent sticking.
Stir in sliced mushrooms, and replace the lid on pot. Allow this to simmer another 15 minutes.
Stir in diced zucchini, and replace lid. Allow this to simmer another 5 minutes.
Stir in thawed peas, and replace lid. This will only need to simmer for 2-3 minutes.
Finally, stir in chopped parsley just before serving.

Don’t let the long ingredients list scare you. I had a lot of veggies on hand, so I really loaded them in, and it was delicious! But this is a really flexible dish that would be delicious with many combinations, so feel free to work with what you have on hand.

Please let me know when you give this a try!

I’ll see you back here Tomorrow!