Giada's Chicken Stew : IHCC

"Potluck", it's potluck week at I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC). For this Potluck week, we are welcome to select any of our former featured chefs recipes, other than the Yotam Ottolenghi's which is our current featured chef. For the last two potluck themes, I have both times cooked from Madhur Jaffrey's recipes, well for this week, I've decided to try one of Giada de Laurentiis's recipes.

Made this Chicken Stew and have seen the many good reviews about it. It was delicious. I have however added in one Russet potato since it is sitting in my pantry basket begging to be used! And since I have a can of black-eyed beans, I used that instead of kidney beans.

On the day when I cooked this Chicken Stew, I've made a crusty bread, but the bread was rising so slowly, and did not manage to bake it on time, and since I have a pack of tortillas, I toast-crisp them instead and my kids had these crispy tortillas with the Chicken Stew. 

The kids love this Chicken Stew. I, myself rather enjoyed it! Just a bowl by itself and it makes a filling lunch. There's no leftovers!

Please do stop by I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC) to view the delicious dishes that my friends have made for the theme "Potluck", and if you are interested to join us, please find out more details from IHCC.

I'm sharing this post with :
Full Plate Thursday hosted by Miz Helen's Country Cottage
Souper Sundays hosted by Kahakai Kitchen

Chicken Stew
(adapted from foodnetwork.com, recipe courtesy from Giada de Laurentiis)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 stalks celery, cut into bite-size pieces
1 carrot, peeled, cut into bite-size pieces
1 small onion, chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 (14-1/2 ounce) can chopped tomatoes
1 (14-ounce) can low-salt chicken broth
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, torn into pieces (1 tsp dried basil)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
2 chicken breast with ribs (about 1-1/2 pounds total)
1 (15-ounce) can organic kidney beans, drained (rinsed if not organic)
serving suggestion : crusty bread

Heat the oil in a heavy 5-1/2 quart saucepan over medium heat. Add the celery, carrot and onion. Saute the vegetables until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Stir in the tomatoes with their juices, chicken broth, basil, tomato paste, bay leaf, and thyme. Add the chicken breasts; press to submerge.

Bring the cooking liquid to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer gently uncovered until the chicken is almost cooked through, turning the chicken breasts over and stirring the mixture occasionally, about 25 minutes. Using tongs, transfer the chicken breasts to a work surface and cool for 5 minutes. Discard the bay leaf. Add the kidney beans to the pot and simmer until the liquid has reduced into a stew consistency, about 10 minutes.

Discard the skin and bones from the chicken breasts. Shred or cut the chicken into bite-size pieces. Return the chicken meat to the stew. Bring the stew just to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Ladle the stew into serving bowls and serve with the bread.