Hearty Chicken Stew With Red Wine & Cream

Winter evenings call for this replenishing comfort food. I used red wine when I had no white wine to hand and the results were even better than my original recipe!

• Ready In: 1 hr 35 mins
• Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 4  chicken breasts
• 2  large potatoes
• 2  carrots
• 1  onion
• 3  garlic cloves
• 10  mixed mushrooms
• 1  large parsnip
• 1⁄2 cup  cream
• 2  chicken stock cubes
• 1 1⁄2 pints boiling water
•  salt
• 1  teaspoon thyme
• 2  teaspoons parsley
• 1  glass red wine

Directions

1. In a large stove-top casserole pot, place the chicken breasts (diced into chunky bite-sized pieces) along with the sliced carrots, parsnips, onion and mushroom. Add the chopped garlic cloves and pour over the boiling water with the stock cubes.
2. Turn the heat on medium-high and mix thoroughly to dissolve the stock cubes and to ensure the meat and veg are mixed evenly.
3. Simmer for approx 20 mins and then add the glass of wine along with the herbs and salt, to taste.
4. Cook over a low-medium heat until the meat has cooked through and the vegetables are well-cooked (approx 1 hour).
5. Add the cream and stir gently. To thicken, you can either add a thickening agent such as cornflour mixed with milk or a packet of soup or you can remove some of the vegetables, puree them and then return to the pot and mix through.
6. Best served hot with crusty bread.