Comfort Food Part 2 - CHICKEN RULES!

Chicken is my ultimate comfort food [especially when on a budget]. It is soul food. It can be made into so many lovely dishes and it is cheap and widely available. I think chicken on the bone is best especially the drums sticks or thigh cutlets. I love whole roasting chicken for Sunday lunch then using the bones to make a great stock. In the next few blogs I am going to show you 4 of my favourite recipes for chicken.

1. Spanish Stew
2. Roast with Herbs
3. Shim's Spicy curry
4. Thai Green Curry

SPANISH CHICKEN STEW

Ingredient:
Chicken Thighs on the bone, skin and fat taken off.
Onions x 2 - peeled and quartered
Carrots x 2 - peeled and cut in large rounds/chunks
Celery/Leeks x 2 - peeled and cut in large chunks
Garlic cloves x 6 - whole [can leave skin on/just lightly crush]
Rosemary, Thyme
Parsley [garnish]
2 dried bay leaves
Smoked sweet/hot paprika
pinch of saffron [this is the most expensive ingredient - if you don't have it you can substitute tumeric to give that warm golden look if not the flavour]
Hot chicken stock [about a pint]
Can of Tomatoes
Tomato puree
Pinch of dried red chilli flakes

• Season the chicken with paprika, salt and black pepper on all sides.
• Boil the kettle and make the stock from oxo chicken stock cube or heat up any real chicken stock you have in the microwave ready to use. Add the pinch of saffron to the hot stock to infuse while you get on with the prep.
• So like most stews it all starts with the onions, carrots , celery/leeks and garlic being sweated off and maybe even gentley caramelised in a deep heavy pan [preferably nonstick].
• While that is cooking away brown the chicken pieces in a tablespoon on Olive/rapeseed [canola] oil and set aside. Don't re-use any of the fat in the pan. Drain that away and then deglaze the pan with a drop of the stock to lift off any caramelised chicken bits and add to the pot of veg.
• Add the chicken to the pot along with more paprika, chilli, bay leaves, rosemary and thyme. Give it all agood stir. Then while on a high heat add the rest of the stock, tomatoes and puree. Bring to the boil. Then turn in right down and simmer with the lid on for 45min.
• Check the seasoning and adjust. Check the chicken is cooked. Take it off the heat and add chopped fresh parsley.

OPTIONS:
1. Add a can of cooked and drained butter beans to bulk the dish out [increases the protein content].
2. If you can stretch your budget to some spanish chorizo - add thick slices to the onions when you sweat them out to get the flavour out of the sausages. For low fat - leave out sausages as they are very fatty.
3. For low carbs - leave out the butter beans serve with steamed green beans instead
4. For Carb Fans - serve with rice/boiled potatoes/ mash or crusty bread to mop us the sauce

NUTRITIONAL NOTES:

Lets face it, cheap factory abused chickens may be full of fat and water [and maybe even antibiotics? Who knows!] rather than good quality lean proteins and naturally occuring fats. If you can afford the chickens that have had the good life running around in lots of space and eating only things that chickens should eat then you are likely to get better flavour and nutrition. It is easier said than done if you are on a tight budget - so get what you can afford and bear in mind that the more we all buy better produce, the more the supermarkets are likely to provide those higher quality products.

Lean animal proteins [always take skin and visible fat off the meat] can keep you fuller for longer and give you all the essential amino acids you need. The body cannot make these and therefore it is essential to get them in your diet as they are the building blocks of proteins in the body.

This is a healthy low carb dish with very little fat, lots of good veg and bags of flavour! Enjoy with a Rioja and dream of Spain.