French-esque, One Pot, Hearty – Lentil & Chicken Stew
French-esque, One Pot, Hearty – Lentil & Chicken Stew
Ok, so….I’m blown away. It looks like vomit, from many angles, but don’t let appearance fool you! This creation is based on a recipe published on BBC, with a little bit of customization. It comes out tasting so fabulous, rich, sharp, flavorful, exacting and perfect for a cool day or a weeknight date-night.
Ingredients:
- 2-3 TB olive oil
- 2 slices of ~1/4″ pancetta from the deli, finely cubed (bacon is ok, too)
- 2 chicken breasts, cubed in 1-1.5″ pieces, salted & peppered
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 1 ~2′ shallot, diced
- 2 medium-sized garlic cloves, finely diced
- 4 tsp AP flour
- 4 tsp tomato paste
- pinch of white sugar
- 1.25 cup (dry) white wine
- 2-3 cups vegetable stock
- 100g green (French) lentils
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 85g brown cremini mushrooms, rinsed and sliced
Steps:
Pour 1-2TB of olive oil in a 6 quart Dutch oven over low heat. Stir the pancetta in to draw the oil, approximately 10 minutes.
Once the pancetta is mostly drawn, stir in the chicken cubes, in batches if needed, to lightly brown them, being careful not to burn the pancetta.
Once the chicken is lightly browned, remove the chicken and pancetta bit from the pot, and set aside. Deglaze the pot on high heat with wine. Reduce the wine out of the mixture.
Stir in the onions, shallots and coat in the oil. Add olive oil if remaining oil is sparse. Mix and cook until the onions are semi-translucent and add in the garlic. Stir in the tomato paste, thyme and sugar and let cook over low heat for 5 minutes.
Mix in the flour over low heat, being very careful not to burn it. Add ½-2 TB olive oil if your mixture if very dry. Mix over low heat for 3-5 minutes until flour is fully mixed in, not clumpy and looks a little doughy.
Pour in the stock, wine and lentils. Bring to a boil, then cover and let simmer for 5 minutes. Stir constantly to avoid the lentils sticking to bottom of pot.
Stir in the mushrooms and chicken, cover, and let simmer for 40 minutes or until the lentils are ready. Stir every 5-10 minutes to ensure lentils do not stick to bottom of pot.
Bon appetit!!!!!