Tuscan Chicken Stew

I didn't do very well this week with sticking to my planned menu.  I got lazy mid week and just grabbed something in the pantry to eat - like Mac N Cheese.

Tonight though, I decided to make Tuscan Chicken Stew - which was a selected recipe for this week.  I had, apparently, not shopped well enough last Sunday and was missing some ingredients. So I punted. Though I don't think my "changes" were all that significant to the overall flavor of the stew.

It's from a cookbook I bought a life time ago called "How To Boil Water". There used to be a show on the Food Network called the same thing and this was their cookbook.  The recipes in this cookbook are broken down so even a 5 YO could figure them out.  They're simple, tried and true recipes that do not disappoint.

Tuscan Chicken Stew
Recipe from How to Boil Water
Serves 4

• 1 onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, smashed or minced
• 1 can cannellini beans (15.5oz), drained and rinsed
• 8 bone in skinless chicken thighs (I didn't have chicken so I used some beef stew meat I had)
• 3 T extra virgin olive oil
• 1 pinch red pepper flakes
• 1 large sprig rosemary or 1 tsp dried Italian seasoning (I didn't have the rosemary so I went for the Italian seasoning).
• 1 T tomato paste
• 1/2 c dry red wine
• 1 can chopped tomatoes (14oz can) - I used Fire roasted tomatoes...yum.
• 3/4 c chicken broth
• 1 head escarole or 4 cups baby spinach (yah not a fan of cooked escarole or spinach so I opted out of this ingredient. I did have a nice spinach salad to go along side it though.)
• 1/2 c freshly grated pecorino or Parmesan cheese

Chop the onion, smash or mince the garlic and drain/rinse the beans. Set aside

Heat in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Pat the chicken down with paper towels. Add the oil to the Dutch oven. When the oil is hot, add chicken skin side down, and brown, in batches if necessary, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer to a platter. (I browned the beef in my version to get the yummy dark bits on the bottom of the pan for later.)

Reduce the heat to medium, add onion, garlic, red pepper flakes and seasoning.  Cook, stirring until onions are slightly soft. Add tomato paste and cook until brick red, about 1 minute.

Add wine and deglaze the pan. Let it reduce until it's about a syrup consistency. Add beans, tomatoes, and chicken broth to the pan. Bring to a boil.  Nestle the chicken pieces back into the pan and any juices as well. Cook for 20 more minutes.

Trim the escarole and tear the leaves into bite-size pieces. (If you're using spinach there's no need to do this.) Wash the escarole or spinach and drain. Add greens to the stew, cooking only until wilted, about 4 minutes. Stir in the cheese and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve in shallow bowls.