Chicken and root vegetable stew
New at the Oakland Medical Center this week, the Food Mill store opened in the M/B Center through the work and vision of Dr. Tom McDonald, our Physician-in-Chief. The store carries a wide variety of healthy foods and basic supplies for home cooking and prepared foods that meet several criteria. The store is a trans-fat free zone. Products are low in saturated fats and are selected for being low in the glycemic index. Foods are labeled to make it easier to identify what to eat in various phases of a program to achieve ideal weight. Dr. McDonald will be expanding the availability of his weight management program which, initially, is for the benefit of our staff.
The store expands the choices available to our medical center's staff, members and neighbors. Pick up an organic chicken from the Food Mill to use with this week's recipe. Of course, organic fruits, vegetables and breads direct from the farmers continue to be available at the Friday Fresh Farmers' Market.
Locally available vegetables in this cold, rainy season grow underground. Use any combination of parsnips, rutabagas, potatoes, turnips and carrots. And, given the weather forecast, bring your raincoat to do your shopping at the farmers' market tomorrow. This may be the first Friday rain since our market opened in May, 2003.
Ingredients
- 3 Tbsp olive oil
- 4 skinless chicken breast halves cut into thigh-sized piece and 4 skinless thighs, boned or not
- 2 medium onions, chopped into 1/2" pieces
- 6 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 2 tsp dried tarragon
- 1/4 cup fresh tarragon, chopped
- 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
- 3 Tbsp flour
- 2 each of parsnips, rutabagas, carrots, potatoes or turnips peeled and cut into 1" chunks
- 5 cups chicken stock
- Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
In a large stew pot and working in batches, heat the oil and brown the chicken on all sides. Transfer the chicken to a bowl. Pour off all but 2 Tbsp of any drippings. Sauté the onions until golden. Add the garlic and sauté one minute.
Add the wine and dried tarragon. Simmer until the wine evaporates. Add the chunks of vegetables. Cook a few minutes stirring in the flour. Add the chicken stock (enough to barely cover the vegetables) and Dijon mustard. Add the chicken back to the pot. Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 30 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Near the end of the cooking time, add the fresh tarragon and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Serve in warm bowls.