Warm up with chicken stew

Okay, so we are all freezing this week, all across the country.  For us here in New England, it’s really no big deal.  It’s just what we are used to.  Once on winter vacation in school for French class we had to keep a weather diary.  I remember just writing repeatedly either “Il fait froid” or “Il neige” (“the weather is cold” or “It snows”).  So, par for the  course.  That doesn’t mean it doesn’t suck after awhile. 

Here’s a nice warm dish that might make it suck a little less for you.  In my neverending search for something new to do with chicken, I turned to that nice new Rocco DiSpirito I book I got at Foxwoods.

Hey, baby!  That’ll warm you up too.

But back to the cooking.  Here’s what you need, other than chicken, because you really don’t need me to show you what raw chicken looks like.

I followed Rocco’s recipe fairly closely, although I used stewed Italian style tomatoes instead of the plain plum tomatoes and I only had sweet paprika from the Armenian shop in Watertown, no smoked paprika.  And the mustard is upside down for a reason – I wasn’t sure if I quite had enough.

So, it really doesn’t look that pretty in pot.  But it definitely smelled great.

There – a little chopped fresh parsley dresses anything up, and isn’t that steam warming you already?  It was simple and filling, and I am thinking it is even pretty gosh darn healthy.  It’s January embodied in a dish, in a good way.  Let it neige, let it neige, let it neige!

Quick Chicken Stew with Tomatoes & Mustard
From Rocco’s Real Life Recipes by Rocco DiSpirito

3 tablespoons olive oil
2 pounds boneless chicken, cut into small chicken (I had less, it still fed three plus leftovers)
salt & fresh ground pepper
3 tablespoons garlic paste or 9 garlic cloves, chopped
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup Dijon mustard
1 15-ounce can plum tomatoes in tomato puree (I used stewed Italian style tomatoes)
2 15-ounce cans cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 tablespoon Spanish smoked paprika (I used Armenian sweet paprika!)
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

Heat oil over high heat.  Season chicken liberally with salt and pepper.  Brown the chicken in the oil, you made need to do this in batches.  Return all the chicken to the pan and add the garlic to the oil.  Cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.  Pour in the broth and bring to a simmer.  Whisk in the mustard.

Pour tomatoes and puree into a bowl.  Gently crush them with your hands.  (I admit I didn’t do this.  I dumped them straight into the pan from the can, and then ended up scooping some of the larger ones out to chop up a little more.  Probably not the best method, but at least I didn’t dirty another bowl.)

Add tomatoes, beans and paprika to the chicken.  Cover with a lid and simmer for about 10 minutes.  (I let it go a little longer with no problem as I waited for some corn muffins to finish baking.)  Sprinkle with parsley and serve.