Irish style chicken stew

As the weather starts to get cooler I instinctively find myself wanting to cook heartier meals while still maintaining a balanced diet. Stews are my go to because they can easily be thrown together and forgotten about until dinner time which make them perfect for busy days.

Growing up in South Africa meant having many different cultural influences in all parts of our lives. The British colonial era introduced a few wonderful gems to our food culture, one family favourite is a hearty Irish style stew.

This stew is traditionally made with lamb and flavoured very simply with thyme, salt and pepper but I have reinvented it slightly to use chicken which also makes it super speedy. Loading it with veggies means that it also becomes a fully rounded one pot meal.

Let’s get cooking…

Heat up enough oil to coat the bottom of a large pot. Place in chicken and allow to brown on both sides, once nicely browned, throw in the onion, ginger and garlic, thyme and salt.

Allow to saute for 5 minutes then add in all the veg besides peas and courgette. Pour in 500ml of water to start and bring to a boil. Once boiling add in the stock cube and allow to simmer on medium heat until potatoes are cooked. Add a little extra water if it reduces too quickly.

Remove 4 tablespoons of cooking liquid to a small bowl and mix in the cornflour to form a slurry. Mix this into the stew along with the peas and courgettes.

Once the gravy thickens and all the vegetables are cooked turn off the heat and allow it sit for 10 minutes then serve and enjoy.