Oh, the weather outside is frightful….and I’m not just
singing a Christmas carol. Cold weather has been wreaking havoc across the
nation. Even Southern Californians, accustomed to having Christmas breakfast on
the picnic table in the backyard, were hit recently with frigid temperatures
and gale-force winds.
That’s when I got out my favorite “stewy” cookbook, and
discovered Naked Juices delicious Chai-Spiced Cider.
“Simply Stews: More Than 100 Savory One-Pot Meals” by Susan
Wyler has been one of my go-to books for almost 15 years. When I set out last week to make her
Cider-Stewed Chicken with Fall Vegetables, I looked in three local supermarkets
for fresh cider and came up dry. (I know the Farmers Market would have had it
from nearby apple town Julian, CA, but I didn’t get to the market that
week.) At Whole Foods, I found the
Naked Juice product.
The resulting stew, with dry white wine and cider vinegar to
balance the spicy sweetness of the juice, was delicious. Wyler calls for (and I
used) chicken pieces with bone and skin. However I found the skin superfluous
in the braised dish. You could also use boneless breasts and thighs with
minimal loss of flavor.
Here’s my version of her recipe. “Simply Stews” sells for
$12 on Amazon.com.
CHAI-SPICED CIDER-STEWED CHICKEN WITH FALL VEGETABLES
Serves 4
1 (3- to 3 ½-pound) chicken (or about 1 ¾ pounds of boneless pieces)
¼ cup flour
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 large onion, minced
2 cups Naked Juice Chai-Spiced Cider
1 cup dry white wine
½ teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1 bay leaf
1 cup chicken stock or broth
1 teaspoon cider vinegar
4 large carrots, peeled, halved length-wide, cut diagonally
into 1-inch pieces
4 large gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
2 medium rutabagas (or turnips), peeled and cut into 1-inch
chunks
¼ cup heavy cream
Season the flour with salt and pepper. Dredge the chicken
pieces in the flour and shake any excess back into the bowl. Save flour.
Ina large flameproof casserole, melt the butter in the oil
over moderate to moderately high heat. Add the chicken in 2 batches and saute,
turning, until golden, about 8 minutes per batch. Remove to a plate. Pour off
all but 1 tablespoon oil from the pan.
Add the onions to the same casserole and cook over low heat
until softened and fragrant, about 10 minutes. Pour in the white wine, scraping
up all the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the cider, thyme and
bay leaf.
Add the chicken stock, vinegar, ½ teaspoon salt and ¼
teaspoon freshly ground black pepper. Return the chicken to the pan, along with
any juices that have collected on the plate. Add the carrots, potatoes and
rutabagas. Cover and simmer over low heat until the chicken and vegetables are
tender, about 30 to 40 minutes.
When the chicken is done, remove it to a serving dish, cover
to keep warm. Dissolve about 1 tablespoon of the reserved seasoned flour in 2
tablespoons additional stock or water, Stir into the sauce and boil over high
heat for a minute or two until slightly thickened. (This step can be skipped if
the sauce already has a satisfactory consistency.) Stir in the cream and season
with additional salt and pepper to taste. Return the chicken to the stew and
simmer another minute or two. Serve in shallow soup bowls, with grilled bread.
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