Chicken Brunswick Stew

A delicious Southern-style chicken stew, perfect for colder days. This hearty dish harks back to the time when people cooked with everything available — bones and skin included. It can also be made with beef, pork or rabbit.

Serves: 4
Preparation: 20 min
Cooking time: 2 hours

Ingredients:

• 700 g chicken legs and thighs, bone-in and skin-on
• 300 g waxy potatoes
• 750 g Roma tomatoes
• 200 g sweetcorn kernels
• 200 g lima beans
• 2 onions
• 1 litre chicken stock
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 4 bay leaves
• 2 tablespoons celery seeds
• Olive oil
• Salt and black pepper

Preparation:

1. Cut the chicken into pieces. Score the drumsticks if needed so the meat shrinks nicely during cooking.
2. Peel and finely chop the onions.
3. Remove the seeds from the tomatoes and dice them.
4. Peel the potatoes and slice them into 1 cm thick rounds.

Method:

1. Heat a good splash of olive oil in a large stew pot over high heat. Sauté the onions until they begin to brown slightly.
2. Lower the heat to medium and add the bay leaves, cayenne pepper and celery seeds. Let them cook briefly with the onions.
3. Add the tomatoes and Worcestershire sauce. Stir well and let it simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Deglaze with the chicken stock and add the potatoes. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
5. Add the chicken, corn and lima beans and simmer for another hour.
6. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
7. You can serve it right away, but the flavour improves if left to rest overnight.