Chicken and Chorizo Stew Spanish-style

From My Carolina Kitchen

Poached chicken:

2 cups fat free, low-sodium chicken broth

2 cups water

1 bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley

3 garlic cloves

1 onion, quartered

1 medium carrot, coarsely chopped

2 (6-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed of excess fat

Stew:

6 ounces chopped Spanish chorizo

3 cups cubed red potatoes

1 ½ cups chopped onion

1 medium red bell pepper, chopped

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic

½ teaspoon ground cumin

¼ teaspoon saffron threads, dissolved briefly in warm water

1 ½ tablespoons sherry vinegar

Chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley for garnish

To poach the chicken, combine all of the ingredients except the chicken in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and bring the mixture to a boil. Immediately reduce the heat and simmer about 14 minutes or until chicken is done, checking at about 11 to 12 minutes. Take extra care not to over-cook the chicken or it will be tough and stringy. Remove the chicken, reserving the cooking liquid. Strain the cooking liquid through a fine sieve, save and discard solids. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, shred and set aside.

Wipe the saucepan with paper towels and sauté the chopped chorizo over medium-high heat for 2 minutes. Add the potatoes, onion and bell pepper to the pan and sauté 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Salt & pepper the vegetables, then add the garlic, cumin and the saffron and simmer for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the reserved cooking liquid and bring to a simmer. Simmer 12 minutes, stirring occasionally. * Add the shredded chicken and simmer for a minute or two, just to warm the chicken. Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the vinegar. Ladle about 1 cup of stew into each of 4 bowls and garnish with chopped parsley. Serve right away.

*Cook’s note: If you are making the stew in advance, stop at this point. Add the chicken when you reheat the stew so as not to make the chicken tough and the stir in the vinegar at the end.

Adapted from Cooking Light, serves 4, easily doubled