We all have a meal that remind us of Home. Not only because your Mom used to make it, but also because it is a traditional meal you can find in your Hometown. The type of meal that can be made in large batch to serve a crowd or simply to feed your family. Chicken Stew is exactly all of the above!
Chicken Stew is not complicated to make. However, it does take some time. What I love about the way Mom use to make it, is that nothing is measured! It is basic ingredients and everything is according to look and taste. I know, makes it more difficult to make when you never made it before. Sometimes, it’s fun to cook without a recipe… as long that you know the basic of what goes in the dish.
In order to make this ”unplanned” meal, you will need:
- Chicken, leg meat is best (I opted for 7 drumsticks I had left in my freezer)
- 2 – 3 potatoes (peeled and cut in cubes)
- 1 carrot (cut in pieces)
- 1 large onion (diced)
- 1/4 of a box of Bow Pasta
- Chicken Bouillon (3 Tbsp Today’s stew)
- 1 Tbsp of dry Parsley
- Salt & Pepper to taste
The traditional stew has Homemade pasta that is either rolled and cut into pieces or scooped and dropped into the hot stock. This stew is simply amazing when served fresh. On our end, we don’t like the texture of fresh pasta when we reheat the stew. Since this meal will be going in lunches this week, that is why I opted for the Bow Pasta.
To begin, we need a good broth… reason why we are using the brown meat of the chicken. In a large pot, I added my chopped onion, chicken (skin on) and 2 Tbsp of the chicken bouillon.
Top off with water and bring to a boil. Once boiling, turn down your heat and let simmer until chicken falls off the bone easily.
Remove the chicken from the broth and set aside.
You will notice that your liquid reduced considerably. I refilled my pot halfway with water. I then added another Tbsp of chicken bouillon, the dry parsley, salt and pepper to taste (be careful when you taste, you can easily burn your taste buds since the broth is hot). Once I reached the desired taste, I added my carrots and let it boil.
While the liquid is slowly boiling, I peeled my potatoes and cut them into cubes. After the carrots have been simmering for a few minutes, I throw in the potatoes and let it continue to cook.
While your veggies are cooking, prepare your meat. You do not want to add any of the skin or bones to your stew. You can remove the meat from the bone and cut with a knife. Me, I prefer to shred chicken in pieces using my hands. I can insure that no skin is left and that no little bone particles are staying attached. It also gives a variety of size pieces in your stew.
At this point, you are ready to add pasta. Again, I go according to look. I ended up putting 1/4 of my new box of Bow Pasta. You may want to add more or less, all depending how much pasta you want. Stir in your chicken and let simmer so the veggies and pasta can finish cooking. Once your pasta is almost cooked, remove from the stove and let rest. The heat from the broth will finish cooking your pasta and the starch of the potatoes will make your broth thicken just a enough to give it a smooth taste.
There are different varieties you can make depending on what you like. You can add less potatoes for a clearer broth. You can add more pasta to make it a stew you can eat with a fork. You can also put less potatoes, less pasta and choose to thicken your broth using cornstarch (if you like the starchy taste). The possibilities are according to what you feel like.
Chicken Stew… a taste from Home. The only thing missing with this Stew is a Ploye… now, that would be a true Brayon meal!
