Autumn Chicken Stew

"I adapted this recipe from one that appeared in BBC Good Food magazine and loved the rich, earthy flavours it produced. The original inspiration for this dish apparently comes from Tunisia and it certainly reminded me of some African stews I have had. The changes I made were to use butternut squash instead of pumpkin, fresh ginger instead of ground and two cans of tomatoes instead of one. I also used my chili olive oil, which is stored in a jar with hot chillis to give it some bite, but if you don't have any spicy oils to use, you could add in a bit of chili powder, cayenne pepper or some harissa. This is a very adaptable recipe so have fun playing with it."
 
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photo by JustJanS photo by JustJanS
photo by JustJanS
Ready In:
55mins
Ingredients:
12
Serves:
4
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ingredients

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directions

  • Peel the pumpkin or squash.
  • Remove the seeds and any fibrous bits and then cut into bite-sized pieces.
  • In a large bowl, heat the oil and fry the onion for 3-4 minutes.
  • Stir in the cinnamon and, if using the ground ginger, stir that in too.
  • If you are using fresh, it will be added later.
  • Cook for a couple more minutes and then add in the chicken.
  • Fry until the chicken is browned slightly on all sides.
  • Add the tomatoes and sugar.
  • Season to taste with salt and pepper if you like, although I don't feel the dish needs any, and then add the chickpeas and pumpkin.
  • Make sure the dish is evenly mixed and then cover and simmer for about 30 minutes or until the pumpkin is tender.
  • If you are using fresh ginger, add it in about half way through this process.
  • Once the pumpkin is cooked, depending on how runny you like your stew, you may want to thicken it up with a bit of cornstarch and water.
  • Just mix the two together and stir in the stew and leave for a couple minutes to thicken.
  • Stir in the chopped coriander just before serving.

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Reviews

  1. Excellent! Didn't use flour to thicken but wouldnt change a thing! Used fresh ginger instead of ground and didnt have chili oil so use a little chili powder. Easy, tasty, healthy, one-pot meal!
     
  2. This is my favorite fall/winter stew. I add chicken broth to make it go further. I often bring it to potlucks, but always make sure there is some in the freezer for me!
     
  3. This was good, perfect for a fall dinner. I didn't have chili flavored olive oil, but I did use some crushed red pepper in the oil. I used butternut squash instead of pumpkin. I will make this again!
     
  4. We really enjoyed this. I added some dried apricots and ommited the cornstarch as it was plenty thick enough. Thank you for this recipe I will certainly be making it again.
     
  5. Though we are well into spring, the endless rain had me in search of a comforting dish. This was quite tasty. I used just one tablespoon of olive oil to cook the onions and chicken and added a tablespoon of harrisa to the tomatoes. About 15 minutes in it seemed a touch bland so I added 1/2 teaspoon of tumeric. I like JanS's suggestion of using thigh meat as the breast meat was a touch dry. My stew was plenty thick without the slurry at the end. The stew was tasty and I'm looking forward to the leftovers tomorrow.
     
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Tweaks

  1. Excellent! Didn't use flour to thicken but wouldnt change a thing! Used fresh ginger instead of ground and didnt have chili oil so use a little chili powder. Easy, tasty, healthy, one-pot meal!
     
  2. This was good, perfect for a fall dinner. I didn't have chili flavored olive oil, but I did use some crushed red pepper in the oil. I used butternut squash instead of pumpkin. I will make this again!
     

RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

This is a picture of me and my husband in Portugal, climbing up above the clouds with our bikes. Right now we are travelling around the world on our bicycles, so I only pop onto Zaar occasionally, when internet connections and time allow me to. If I don't reply to a message about one of my recipes, now you know why! Our trip may take several years so if it's urgent, it's probably better for you to post in the forums ;) Good food is really important to me -- I am happy to pay extra for food that I feel is produced in a sustainable and ethical way and always try to eat using seasonal produce. When we were in the UK we rarely shopped at supermarkets, trying instead to favour small producers, although we were very lucky in that we lived in London and there was lots of choice. We also were fortunate enough to have a weekly organic veg box delivered to our door, filled with so many lovely vegetables for very little money. It really opened my horizons in terms of the variety of vegetables I eat. If you're in the UK, check out Riverford for a box supplier as they're amazing! When I'm not eating I love to take pictures and travel with my husband. <img src="http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y53/DUCHESS13/World%20Tour/ZWT2.gif">
 
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