Signature Dish of the Day: Chicken & Kale Stew
Signature Dish of the Day: Kicking off the month of April with this incredibly delicious and truly heart-warming Chicken & Kale Stew as our signature dish of the day today! Kale and collard greens are a staple vegetable food in our home country, but they are usually prepared in very typically standard/traditional ways across most households nationwide. They are often chopped very finely and sautéed to make a side dish to be paired with some starch on their own or with meat stew as an accompanying side as well. Thus, I have been keen on experimenting on new ways to transform this amazingly versatile and bona fide superfood into the star component by incorporating it in a wide range of dishes as much as I can from time to time. We had thankfully bought a small bunch of curly kale right before things started to go crazy, so while it might be difficult to purchase this now, this is a great recipe to bookmark for your own future cooking adventures once this tumultuous season is hopefully over. As an alternative, you can also substitute frozen kale in this dish, although the texture will not quite be the same as that of fresh kale.
For this recipe, I used bone-in, skinless chicken thighs but later de-boned them once I had lightly cook them in a broth for about 15 minutes under medium-high heat. The bones serve to enrich the broth and significantly enhance the resulting flavors, so I would highly recommend them although boneless chicken thighs can also be substituted for this recipe. To create the broth, I first heated up about 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot under medium heat for about 2 minutes before adding in 6 pieces of bone-in, skinless chicken thighs. I seasoned them generously with some ground black pepper, smoked paprika, and salt while stirring thoroughly. I then added about 2 1/2 cups of water (you can use chicken or vegetable stock here as well) and let the thighs cook slowly under medium-high heat for about 15 minutes. The goal for this first step is not to completely cook the thighs but to develop the base flavors and broth that will both be vital components of the final stew. Once done, I turned off the heat and strained the broth into a glass measuring cup before setting it aside. I then de-boned the chicken thighs and placed the chunks back into the same cooking pot.
Thereafter, I turned the heat back on to medium-high and added about 3 tablespoons of olive oil into the pot while stirring the chicken to coat well. I let the chicken brown just a little bit for about 2 minutes before pouring in a medley of diced red onions, finely diced crushed garlic and ginger, and diced tomatoes. I seasoned the mixture with about 1 teaspoon each of ground black pepper and smoked paprika, stirred thoroughly to blend well together, and allowed this base mixture to cook for about 3 minutes before stirring in about 1 cup of frozen peas and carrots. I then added 2 cups of water, season generously with salt to taste, and let the stew simmer and thicken slowly uncovered under medium heat. After some time, I added another 1/2 cup of water when the water level begun to reduce and garnished the stew with some dry parsley and basil flakes. After about 10 minutes, I finally poured in large chunks of 1 bunch of very coarsely chopped curly kale and stirred it into the stew. I covered the pot and let the kale cook for only about 3 more minutes before turning off the heat. The trick here is to cook the kale just slightly enough that it softens but still retains its crunch and bright green color...you definitely would not want to overcook it. Once done, I served this unbelievably delicious stew hot over my Fregola & Pickled Cucumber Medley as shown below for a complete dinner meal. Hearty, delicious, and irresistibly heart-warming...this dish is truly the chicken soup that will surely warm soul! I hope you give this a try soon too and let us know how it goes. Enjoy! 😍😋💖
