This third dish of our
chicken, zucchini and carrots experiment is a break from the sautés of the past two. This time it is a bit more of a stew. We had some leftover corn from the night before, and that is what drove the recipe.
Ingredients
- 4-6 chicken thighs, boneless and skinless
- 3-4 small zucchini
- 4-5 medium carrots
- 1/2 onion sliced into small wedges
- 1 clove garlic
- fresh oregano
- fresh basil
- ground cumin
- about a cup or more of fresh tomato
- 1-2 cups of cooked corn (whatever is left over)
- 1/4 cup of peppers (pepper type determines spiciness)
- chicken stock
- oil for sautéing
- cornstarch as thickener if needed
Steps
We start by sautéing most ingredients and then finishing it as a stew. Heat the oil in a medium to large dutch oven or medium size pot. Cut your zucchini and carrots into 1/2 inch rounds. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and sauté them over medium high briefly until they just begin to smell really good. Remove them to a bowl. Salt and pepper the chicken thighs and add them to the pot and sauté turning when browned nicely. Remove to bowl.
Turn down the heat to medium low and add the onions with some salt and pepper. Let these cook down for a while, scraping the pan as you go. Once these are getting nicely golden brown, turn up the heat, add the garlic, corn and peppers and let them just get warm before adding the cumin, oregano and basil (reserving a little of the basil and oregano to finish with.) Add salt and pepper and cook until they just start to smell really good. Add the tomatoes and let them cook down. Add chicken stock, scraping up the good stuff off the bottom and let it come up to temperature before tasting for salt. Dump the chicken back into the pot and make sure you have enough liquid to cover. Keep it at a simmer until the chicken is cooked through, then add the zucchini and carrots for the last couple of minutes to heat through and finish cooking. If you want it thicker, go ahead and add some cornstarch mixed with cold water to thicken. Serve in bowls, with a side of sour cream. Guests can add sour cream and stir it in.
Notes
The keys to this particular recipe are the corn and long slow cooking of the onions. If you can manage to take your time with the onions, this dish will have a sweet, rich and satisfying feel. As
before, your choice of peppers will influence the spiciness of the dish. Chipotle peppers would be a nice addition to this as well, lending their unique smokiness to the overall taste of the dish.