Name: Chicken Potato Winter Stew
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 45 min
Ingredients: 4-5 chicken thighs (skinless); 500 g baby/salad potatoes (peeled weight, approx. 10-12 potatoes); 1 onion (finely chopped); 1 large carrot (peeled, chopped into ½'' chunks); 1 small leek (chopped into 1½'' chunks); 70 g celery root (peeled, finely diced); 5 g dried porcini mushrooms; 500 ml vegetable/chicken stock (hot); 2 tbsp olive oil; 3 tbsp white wine; 2½ tbsp tomato puree; 1¼ tbsp Worcestershire sauce; 1 tsp dried thyme; 2 allspice berries; 4 juniper berries; 1 bay leaf; 1½ tbsp redcurrant jelly (or cranberry sauce/jelly); Sea salt and pepper to taste (parsley for garnish)

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This chicken potato stew is a true winter warmer, hearty, rich, satisfying and delicious. It's easy to make, doesn’t require hours of cooking so it’s perfect as a weeknight family meal.

Stews are some of the easiest one-pot dishes I can think of and this chicken potato stew is no exception. Apart from peeling a few vegetables all this dish requires is to assemble the ingredients in a pot, then let the mixture simmer and turn into a stew. You’ll have a steaming, delicious dish cooked from scratch on the table in under 45 minutes!

Chicken potato stew ingredients

This recipe involves cooking chicken thighs and potatoes along with a few popular vegetables (onion, carrot, leek and celeriac) and dried herbs. I also added Worcestershire sauce, tomato puree and redcurrant jelly to enhance the flavour of the stock.

I also used a small amount of dried porcini mushrooms into the mixture for added complexity and depth of flavour. There is only a hint of mushroom flavour in the stew.

What potatoes to use

You will need to use potatoes that hold their shape in cooking. Good choices include baby potatoes or salad potatoes (usually oval shaped) - Alexandra, Charlotte or Yukon Gold. Avoid starchy potatoes.

Do I need to peel the vegetables

No, you don’t! Leaving the potatoes and carrots unpeeled will give this chicken and potato stew more of a rustic feel. Just wash them thoroughly before adding into the pot. I do, however, recommend peeling the celery root (otherwise it will be difficult to get rid of all the soil trapped within its gnarly skin).

Step-by-step recipe instructions

1.Rinse the porcini mushrooms thoroughly rubbing gently to remove any grit then place in a small bowl and add 2 tablespoons of water (after about 10 minutes chop the mushrooms and reserve the water). Set aside while you start making the stew.

In a large pot heat up the oil, add the bay leaf, allspice and juniper berries, celery root and onion and cook gently until softened for about 3 minutes. Pour in the wine and cook for another minute or so.

2. Push the vegetables to the sides, add the chicken thighs and cook for 2 minutes on each side.

3. Pour in the stock, add the leek, carrot, thyme, Worcestershire sauce, tomato puree and porcinis (along with the water they soaked in). Add a generous amount of freshly ground black pepper, stir, cover and bring to the boil.

4. Lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes or until the potatoes are fully cooked, stirring gently once in a while.

5. Remove from the heat, lift the chicken out of the pot and place on a plate or cutting board. Remove the bones (if present) and shred the meat roughly.

6. Place the meat back in the pot, stir through the redcurrant jelly, adjust the seasoning if needed and enjoy!

Serving suggestions

This potato and chicken stew is delicious served with garlic bread, crusty baguette or soda bread. You could also serve it with couscous, steamed vegetables, such as green beans or broccoli, as well as rutabaga/swede mash.

Top tips

I prefer to use chicken thighs with the bone but you can use boneless if you like (it’s easy to remove the bone once the meat is fully cooked and tender).
Wash the porcinis thoroughly before adding into the stew. You can pour the mushroom water into the stew through a fine mesh sieve.
Cook this potato chicken stew gently (do not allow it to boil rapidly) so the vegetables retain their shape.
Your stew is ready when the potatoes are fully cooked.
Best served hot. This stew tastes even better the next day! Refrigerate for up to 3 days.
Freeze for up to 3 months.

Substitutions

Celery root: use 1 celery stick instead.
I like to use vegetable stock in this recipe but if you prefer a more intense chicken flavour use chicken stock.
Dried thyme can be replaced with mixed herbs/poultry seasoning. You could also use a mixture of thyme and rosemary.
If you can’t get redcurrant jelly use cranberry sauce.

Extra ingredients you may want to use

This potato chicken stew is rich and flavourful but as it’s also versatile you can mix things up a bit and add your own twist to this dish.

You could for instance add a handful of fresh baby spinach into the pot for the final 3 minutes of cooking. A teaspoon of smoked paprika will add an interesting flavour twist. You could also fry a bit of minced garlic along with the onion mixture.

As for garnish you could use fresh tarragon alongside parsley (for me personally parsley is essential so I wouldn’t omit that but the choice is yours).

Check out also this collection of healthy chicken recipes!

Keep in touch!

If you make this chicken stew with potatoes I'd love to know how it turned out for you. Did you make any swaps? Let me know in the comments below, thanks!

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Chicken Potato Winter Stew