Happy Insides

We have been on a pretty big sweet potato kick lately.  It is a fairly new found love as Cassie is a reformed picky eater and was pretty sure she didn't like sweet potatoes for the longest time.  It is pretty amazing how she has gone from not liking anything to now liking just about everything. 

Anyway, back to sweet potatoes and this stew...We found this recipe and it looked like a really easy, but hearty dish for a fall evening.  It is filling and warm, but still healthy and not too heavy.  We substituted red wine and red wine vinegar for white wine and white wine vinegar because that is what we had in the house and they both added a great full flavor to the meal. 

Chicken and Sweet Potato Stew
Adapted from Eatingwell.com
Serves 4
4 bone in chicken thighs with the skins removed and trimmed of fat
2 lbs. sweet potatoes, cut into spears
1/2 lb. cremini mushrooms, sliced
6 large shallots, peeled and halved
4 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
1 c. dry red wine
2 t. chopped fresh rosemary
1 t. salt
1/2 t. ground black pepper
1 1/2 T. red wine-vinegar
1 c. low sodium chicken broth

1) Place all ingredients into a slow cooker and stir to combine.

2) Cook on low for 6-8 hours.  Remove the bones from the chicken if desired and serve warm over vegetables.

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We found this recipe one day when browsing on Annie Eats.  It looked like such a hearty and warming meal perfect for the cooling fall weather.  It is full of delicious and healthy ingredients and really leaves you feeling satisfied after the meal.  As always we added a little extra spice to this.  We forgot to buy the green chilis and the flavor of the stew was still amazing, but we still included them in the recipe because we feel they would still be a good addition and add even more flavor.

Black Bean, Chicken and Roasted Pepper Stew
From Kayln's Kitchen found via Annie Eats

2 T. olive oil, divided
2-3 chicken breasts, cut into chunks
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 15 oz. cans black beans drained
1 28 oz can diced tomatoes
2-3 bell peppers, roasted and cut into strips (we used yellow) 
1 4oz. can diced green chilis
2 c. reduced sodium chicken stock
2 T. cumin
1 t. cayenne
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 c. fresh cilantro, chopped

1)In a large Dutch oven or stockpot, heat 1 T. of the olive oil over medium high heat.  Add the chicken and cook stirring until browned and cooked through.  Transfer to a bowl with a slotted spoon and set aside.

2) Heat the remaining T. of olive oil.  Add the onion and saute until tender, about 5 minutes.  Add the garlic and cook for another minute. 

3)Mix in the black beans, diced tomatoes, bell peppers, green chilis, stock, cumin, and cayenne.  Return the chicken to the pot.  Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer.  Allow to simmer uncovered for 45 minutes. 

4) Remove from heat.  Season with salt and pepper and stir in the fresh cilantro. 

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Doro W'et is an spicy Ethiopian chicken stew.  It is a very good and filling meal.  We stumbled across it one day while looking in our cookbook "A World of Curries" by Dave Dewitt and Arthur Pais.  We have made this several times in the past, but seemed to have forgotten about it recently.  That was until Cassie started looking at the round 2 entries for Project Food Blog on FoodBuzz.  In those entries she saw several entries for this dish and our hunger for it was rekindled.  The original recipe calls for bone in chicken pieces, but we have made it with both bone in and boneless chicken and we feel like the recipe really works best with boneless chicken.  It is just easier to eat so we noted this in the recipe below.  The recipe for berbere below makes about 1.5 cups worth.  You only need 1/4 c. for the stew, but this will keep well in the refrigerator for about a month and can be used in other curries.    

Doro W'et
Adapted from "A World of Curries" by Dave Dewitt and Arthur Pais

Berbere: 
1 t. ground cardamom
2 t. cumin seeds
1/2 t. coriander seeds
1/4 t ground cinnamon
1/2 t. whole black peppercorns
1/2 t. fenugreek seeds
1 small onion, coarsley chopped
4 cloves garlic peeled
1 c. water
14 small dried hot red chiles, seeds and stems removed
1 T. cayenne
2 T. paprika
1/2 t. ground ginger
1/4 t. allspice
1/4 t. nutmeg
1/4 t. ground cloves
3 T. dry red wine
3 T. vegetable oil

1) Toast the cardamom, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, peppercorns and fenugreek in a hot skillet, shaking constantly, for a couple of minutes, untl they start to toast and gain aroma.  Grind the spices to form a powder.

2) Combine the onion, galric and 1/2 c. water in a food processor or blender and puree until smooth.  Add the toasted spice powder, chiles, cayenne, paprika, ginger, allspice, nutmeg and cloves.  Continue to blend.  Slowly add the remaining 1/2 c. water, wine and oil and blend until smooth.

3) Place sauce n a saucepan and simmer for 15 minutes to blend falvors and thicken.

Doro We't:
2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken (breasts or thighs will work)
3 T. freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 large onion, chopped
2 c. garlic peeled and minced
2 T. butter
1/4 c. berbere
2 T. paprika
2 t. ground ginger
1 t. freshly ground black pepper
1/4 t. ground cardamom
1/4 t. nutmeg
2 c. water
4 hard-boiled eggs, left whole

1) Cut chicken into small bite sized pieces.  Rub the chicken with the lemon juice and let it marinate, covered, for 30 minutes at room temperature.

2) Saute the onion and the garlic in the butter until browned.  Add the berbere, paprika and remaining spices, and saute for 2-3 minutes.

3) Add the chicken with its marinade to the pan and toss to coat.  Stir in enough of the 2 c. water to form a thick sauce.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 30 minutes.

4) Using a fork poke holes all over the eggs, then add them to the stew.  Cover again and simmer for an additional 15 minutes.

Serve the Doro W'et over a piece of crusty bread.

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