Spanish Style Stew

Arroz Con Pollo

(It’s a great base for Arroz con Pollo and/or Chicken Empanadas)

Ingredients

• 1 red bell pepper; small dice
  
• 1 green bell pepper; small dice
  
• 2-3 carrots, depending upon size; small dice
  
•  1 large or two small yellow onions; small dice
  
•  2 red chilies, or more if you like a lot of heat; small dice
  
•  5 cloves garlic, minced
  
• 1 lemon, zest and juice
  
•  8 chicken thighs, skin on – if you can find them boneless, it will save a step, if not, it’s okay. 
  
• ¼ cup green olives stuffed with pimentos, sliced
  
• ½ cup capers
  
• 1 small can or jar of tomato paste
  
• 32 oz chicken stock (low sodium or homemade)
  
•  ½ cup of white wine
  
• 1 cup AP flour
  
• 2 Tbsp Hungarian Paprika
  
•  2 Tbsp sea salt
  
• 1 Tsp cracked black pepper
  
• several sprigs of thyme
  
• several sprigs of rosemary
  
• nonstick cooking spray
  

Spanish Style Chicken Stew

Method

•  Before I make this dish, I usually assemble everything I need.  I first spray the inside of the crockpot with a non-stick cooking spray.  I like to use Spectrum organic canola oil spray. 
  
•  I take large glass bowl and combine my flour, paprika, salt and black pepper. I mix it with a fork and set it aside. 
  
•  I cut up my peppers, onions, carrots and garlic and put them into the bottom of the crockpot. 
  
•  I tie the thyme and rosemary together with kitchen twine and put it into the crockpot.
  
•  Now, I will zest the lemon directly over the vegetables, and then juice it and add the juice to the pot.
  
• At this point, I add my capers and my sliced olives to the crockpot. 
  
• Now, I wash and thoroughly dry the chicken thighs, patting them down with a paper towel.  I roll them in my flour mixture, making sure that all exposed meat is covered, and add each piece to the crockpot.   
  
•  I sometimes heat a skillet and sear the chicken first on high heat before adding them to the crockpot.  This helps to add and build the flavor of the dish, but if I am in a hurry, or just don’t feel like washing more dishes, I will skip this step.
  
•  Once the chicken is sitting on top of the vegetables, I paint the tomato paste on top of the chicken with a spatula.
  
•  Finally, I add all my liquids to the crockpot (wine and stock) and set it on Low for 10 hours. 
  

I can tell it’s done when the chicken completely falls apart by touching it with a wooden spoon.   At this point I put it into storage containers and refrigerate it for a day.  You can eat it right from the crockpot, but I find it needs that extra 24 hours in the fridge to really develop it’s flavors.

If you choose to use it as a filling for empanadas - be forewarned - 1/2 the batch will be gone before you walk away from the stove.  They are super yummy. 
 

Empanadas in the making