Wouldn’t chicken stew hit the spot on a day like this?
Find the right wine to pair with these two hearty winter dishes that you will warm to
There are countless recipes for chicken stew. And, by golly, all the stews can be paired with its most harmonizing wine.
Slow Cooker Chicken Parmesan and Garlic Stew offers bold flavours that complement white wine.
Add one pound of cubed potatoes, three boneless chicken breasts cut into one-inch pieces, and one stalk of chopped celery. Throw in half an onion finely chopped, three carrots thinly sliced, three cloves of minced garlic, one teaspoon of salt, one teaspoon of dried parsley, one teaspoon of dried thyme, a quarter teaspoon of freshly-ground black pepper, and three cups of chicken broth to a 4-6 quart slow cooker.
Cover and cook the stew on low for four hours, or until the chicken is cooked throughout and the potatoes are soft. Set the slow cooker to high. Stir together two-thirds cup of cream and four tablespoons of cornstarch, and stir the mixture into the slow cooker, along with a half cup of Parmigianno-Reggiano cheese. Cover and cook another 30 minutes or until thickened. Serve immediately with crusty Italian bread.
The creamy base of this stew, along with the salty cheese and strong flavour of garlic demand a white wine with fattiness, like a barrel fermented and aged Chardonnay. Gnarly Head Chardonnay (CSPC 486449), $13.95, is a decent quaffer and ideal to partner with this stew. The wine has lovely classic pear and apple aromas and flavours with some vanilla and toast coming through on the palate. With 13.5 per cent alcohol, the wine has enough weight to match the weight of this stew.
In Japan, a cream-based stew is considered “yoshoku.” This term refers to a western-style cuisine with a Japanese twist.
For this, season four chicken thighs (cut into bite-sized pieces) with salt and freshly-ground pepper. In a large sauté pan over medium heat, warm a tablespoon of canola. Sauté chicken until cooked through. Add one sliced onion and sauté on medium heat until soft and translucent. Add one peeled and sliced carrot and two cubed potatoes and stir-fry quickly. Pour 2 1/2 cups of chicken stock into the pan with the vegetables and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low. Simmer until vegetables are tender.
Meanwhile, in a separate saucepan, make the white sauce. Melt two tablespoons of butter on low heat and stir in two tablespoons of flour. Cook the flour until it bubbles, making sure to mix well continuously.
Pour one cup of milk into the two tablespoons of flour mixture and cook on medium heat, stirring quickly until it begins to thicken slightly. Reduce heat to low and cook until the sauce is thick, making sure to stir constantly. Turn off the heat and set aside the white sauce.
In a small bowl, take 1/3 cup of the soup broth from the chicken and vegetable stew and mix with two heaping tablespoons of cream cheese until it melts.
Next, add the cream cheese mixture and soup broth mixture back into the stew. Add the white sauce to the stew and stir lightly. Add one head of broccoli, broken into florets, into the stew. Simmer for about five minutes on medium heat until broccoli is tender. Remove from heat and serve immediately.
The cream base of this stew also makes Gnarly Head Chardonnay a perfect match.