There's nothing like a stew in wintertime...

I love stew.  Love love love it.  Here's why:

- Stew has the most wonderful consistency.
- Stew really brings together all your ingredients so that the flavors can marry instead of being in separate little piles on your plate.
- I find stew bowls to be rather attractive, in regards to their proportions.
- You can play around with stew recipes as much as you want - there's no exact science to stews!  Don't have this ingredient?  Then use that one.  Don't like this?  Substitute that.  You sacrifice nothing!
- Who doesn't like saying "stewwwww"?

We have all these gorgeous root vegetables from our CSA share.  The great thing about root vegetables is that they hold up really well in stews because they are so hearty themselves.  I knew I wanted to make a stew with some of our veggies, and I was in a chicken mood.  I searched through a few recipes for inspiration.  I found a recipe for "Chicken Stew with Onion, Tomatoes, and Dijon".  I loved the idea of using Dijon in the stew, and the spices they used in the recipe were all things I had in my pantry.  Sadly, the stew didn't call for any veggies other than the tomatoes, and I need my veggies.  Therefore, I just made a few adjustments to accommodate lots of carrots and rutabaga.

This was one of the most fabulous winter stews I have had in a while.  Filling but at the same time light with all the vegetables!

Chicken Stew with Carrots, Rutabaga, and Dijon (adapted from Simply Recipes)

Ingredients:

• olive oil
• 2 chicken legs, bone-in and skin-on, about 1 pound (or use breast if you prefer, but I think the legs have a lot more flavor and do really nice things in a stew!)
• salt and pepper
• 1 red onion, chopped in large pieces
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 5 medium carrots, cut into 3/4" pieces
• 1 large rutabaga (potatoes or other root vegetables would work too), cut into 3/4" pieces
• one 28 ounce can of whole peeled tomatoes
• 1 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/4 tsp oregano
• 1/4 tsp cumin
• pinch of cayenne
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 3 tbsp Dijon mustard

Directions:

1. Heat a little bit of olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven on medium-high heat.
2. Pat the chicken legs dry with a paper towel.  Then, salt and pepper the chicken legs on both sides.
3. When the oil is hot, add the chicken to the pot, skin side down first.  Cook for a few minutes until nicely browned and then flip over and cook for another few minutes.  When your chicken is browned all over (it won't be fully cooked on the inside yet), remove the chicken from the pot and place on a plate.  Set aside.
4. Toss the onions into the pot that had the chicken in it before.  Cook the onions for several minutes until soft and a little brown.  Turn frequently so they don't burn.
5. Then, add in the garlic.  Cook for two minutes, stirring almost constantly.
6. Add in the carrots and rutabaga.  Cook for 5 minutes, stirring a few times.
7. Add in the tomatoes, thyme, bay leaves, oregano, cumin, and cayenne.  Stir well.
8. Put the browned chicken legs on top of the veggies in the pot and nestle them in a bit so that they are well surrounded by the rest of the ingredients but not totally submerged.
9. Pour in the wine.  
10. Bring to a simmer.  Then, cover and cook on low heat (enough to keep it simmering) for 40 minutes, stiffing occasionally.
11. After 40 minutes, remove the chicken to a clean plate; the chicken should now be fully cooked.  Add the mustard to the pot and stir well.  Increase the heat to medium-high and cook uncovered for 10-20 minutes until the sauce is thick and the vegetables are tender.  
12. Remove the bay leaves.  Add back in the chicken and let the stew cook for another few minutes to re-warm the chicken.
13. Serve stew over some sort of grain.  I used whole farro, but brown rice, couscous, or pasta would be divine as well!

This was delicious for dinner and still scrumptious reheated the next day for lunch!