Obviously Kyla and I regularly talk about food…this is one dish she’s been encouraging me to try and it will for sure pop up regularly – it’s terrific! I used thick pork loin chops instead of chicken this time, because I had them… as per Kyla’s tweak, tomatoes are a must… but I also loved the original’s farmer’s sausage, so both will forever be necessary for me – enjoy!
Chicken (or Pork!) and Sausage Stew
6 to 8 skinless chicken thighs – or the equivalent in pork
1/2 c. flour
1 t. EACH garlic powder, dried basil, dried oregano
1/2 t. EACH salt and freshly ground pepper
olive oil for cooking
6 + cloves of garlic, chopped
1 large onion, diced
an assortment of similar-sized seasonal vegetables – I used a variety of potatoes, turnips, and carrots
a good sprinkling of salt and freshly ground pepper
1, 6 to 8 inch piece of cooked farmer’s sausage
2 or 3 large tomatoes, diced
a few sprigs of fresh thyme
1 c. white wine – just not dry
I used my large dutch oven for this stew, but chose to cook the meat in a non-stick skillet, while cooking the onions in the dutch oven to speed things up. So for the meat – I used a sturdy ziploc bag and combined the flour, garlic powder, basil, oregano, salt and pepper and then tossed in each piece of meat and gave the bag a shake. Heat a bit of oil in your skillet/pot and cook each piece of dredged chicken/pork for a few minutes per side until nicely browned. Set the meat aside and add a bit of oil to your pot to saute the garlic and onion for several minutes until it all starts to caramelize a bit – brown is better, this is all still going to simmer in liquid for an hour. Remove the pot from the heat, preheat the oven to 400.
Now you have cooked garlic and onions at the bottom of your pot, layer your browned meat on top, then fill your dutch oven about 3/4′s full with your chosen vegetables. Sprinkle everything with salt and pepper, add in the chunks of sausage, then top with the tomatoes and sprigs of thyme. Pour the wine over all.
Cook for a good hour – I found mine to take more like an hour and a half but I think my vegetables could have been cut smaller – basically the meat will be cooked no matter what, and you’re just waiting for all of your vegetables to be tender. Feel free to check your stew and give it a stir part way through, add a bit of broth or water if you think it’s too dry, and if you have the time, remove the lid for a while to thicken up the juice. We enjoyed this straight up the first night, and then had the leftovers with baguettes.
