I volunteer at a cooking school, assisting the chefs while they teach classes. I share what I learn in this diary.
Photo by: The Italian Voice / Creative Commons
Today in knife skills class, I learned how to debone a chicken. It’s a bit sad that it took me until my 30s to learn such a basic task, but it never seemed to affect me in the least that I didn’t know how. I was always happy to pay more for trimmed, packaged chicken breasts — and to purchase chicken stock rather than make my own — thus sacrificing flavor along with money.
I thought it was worth it to save time. If I ever wanted to cook using that “whole chicken” flavor, I would roast a chicken and then use the leftovers to make a recipe more interesting. Now that I’m in the know, I’d rather buy a whole chicken, debone it raw and save the carcass for stock. Never mind that I haven’t even made stock. Yet.
So today I bought a bird with plans to debone it and use it in a stew that I’m making for dinner tomorrow. Although the recipe looks strange, I was only convinced to try it because I’m told it doesn’t actually taste like peanut butter. I’ll report back to you with my findings on that claim.
I made some changes to the recipe, reflected in my version below. For one thing, I’ll sauté the mirepoix (rather than following the original recipe and throwing the celery, carrots and onion into the broth without cooking first.) Here’s the recipe I plan to make:
Peanut Butter Vegetable Chicken Stew
Prep Time: 15 Minutes
Ready In: 50 Minutes
Servings: 8
Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 lb. chopped chicken pieces
- ½ cup chopped celery
- ½ cup chopped onion
- ½ cup chopped carrots
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 8 cups chicken broth
- 4 cups mixed veggies
- 1 cup canned crushed tomatoes
- ½ cup peanut butter
METHOD:
- In a large stock pot, heat olive oil. Brown the chicken. Add the celery, onion, carrots, garlic, salt & pepper and sauté until soft.
- Add the broth. Bring the soup to a boil, and then reduce heat to medium. Cook for about 10 minutes.
- Add the vegetables. Simmer for about 8 minutes.
- Add peanut butter, salt, and pepper; stir until peanut butter is fully blended. Simmer for 3 minutes longer.
I would say “Bon appetit!” but I feel that “Wish me luck!” is a more appropriate expression.
