It's still winter, eat stew!

 

Mmmmmm.... stew. Yes, it's March 1st and the sun is shining. Hooray! But, it is, in fact, still winter. And to celebrate, I bring you stew in its simplest format from Jamie Oliver. It's tasty, comforting, yet light with just a dollop of sour cream for creaminess. I sliced up a couple of carrots for color and added them at the same time as the mushrooms. Yummers.

Simplest Chicken and Leek Stew
From Jamie Oliver in Food & Wine, March 2011
Serves 4. 

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 medium leeks, white and tender green parts only, thinly sliced
1/2 pound cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut into 2-inch pieces
All-purpose flour, for dusting
1 1/2 cups chicken stock or low-sodium broth
1 tablespoon chopped thyme
2 tablespoons sour cream
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

In a skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil. Add the leeks and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until softened, about 7 minutes. Add the mushrooms and season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook, stirring, until the mushrooms are tender, about 4 minutes. Scrape the leeks and mushrooms onto a plate.

Season the chicken with salt and pepper and lightly dust with flour, shaking off any excess. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil in the skillet. Add the chicken and cook over moderate heat until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Add the chicken stock and thyme and simmer over moderate heat until the chicken is just cooked through, about 1 minute. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the chicken to the plate with the vegetables.

Simmer the stock over moderately high heat until reduced by half, about 2 minutes. Return the chicken, leeks and mushrooms to the skillet and simmer over low heat until warmed through, about 1 minute.

In a small bowl, blend the sour cream with the mustard and stir into the stew. Remove the skillet from the heat. Season the stew with salt and pepper and serve over steamed rice.