Chicken Stew with Shallots, Cider, and Butternut Squash

13 Reviews
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6 servings
By Jeanne Kelley
January 2006
RECIPE BY Cooking Light

Lightly spiced with curry, this thick stew pairs well with steamed rice and a green salad. Fermented cider, also called hard cider, is usually found in the beer section of grocery stores and liquor stores. Nonalcoholic sparkling dry cider makes a good substitute.

Ingredients

  • 4 teaspoons olive oil, divided
  • 1 cup sliced shallots (about 6 medium)
  • 1 teaspoon curry powder
  • 1/3 cup all-purpose flour (about 1 1/2 ounces)
  • 1 1/4 pounds skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
  • 3/4 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
  • 1 teaspoon salt, divided
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, divided
  • 2 cups fermented dry cider
  • 1 (14-ounce) can fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth, divided
  • 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup water
  • 2 cups (1/2-inch) cubed peeled butternut squash (about 1 pound)
  • 1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted
  • Chopped fresh parsley (optional)

Nutritional Information

  • Calories 328
  • Caloriesfromfat 27%
  • Fat 9.7g
  • Satfat 1.8g
  • Monofat 4.9g
  • Polyfat 2g
  • Protein 35.8g
  • Carbohydrate 24.4g
  • Fiber 2.9g
  • Cholesterol 111mg
  • Iron 3.1mg
  • Sodium 628mg
  • Calcium 85mg

How to Make It

Step 1

Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add shallots; sauté 5 minutes or until tender and golden brown. Add curry powder; sauté 1 minute. Spoon shallot mixture into a large bowl.

Step 2

Place 1/3 cup flour in a shallow bowl or pie plate. Dredge chicken in flour, shaking off excess. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add half of chicken mixture; sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Cook 6 minutes, browning on all sides. Add browned chicken to shallot mixture. Repeat procedure with remaining chicken mixture, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper.

Step 3

Add cider to pan, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Combine 1 cup broth and 1 tablespoon flour, stirring with a whisk until smooth. Add broth mixture, remaining broth, and water; bring to a boil. Stir in chicken mixture, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Step 4

Stir in squash. Simmer, uncovered, 55 minutes or until chicken and squash are very tender and sauce thickens. Spoon about 1 cup stew into each of 6 bowls; sprinkle each serving with 2 teaspoons almonds and parsley, if desired.

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Ratings & Reviews

MDCook2's Review

ChefAmandaLynn
February 15, 2015
I have been making this recipe since it was first published. I make it at least once a winter and often 2-3x. It is one of my favorite parts of winter! I too have found that I only need to cook it for 50 minutes so I add the butternut squash once I have it all chopped up. I sometimes will add a bunch of chopped up kale at the end to add some greens. And sometimes I'll add some crushed red pepper for a bit of a kick. Yum!!

JenTournesol's Review

carolfitz
January 12, 2014
N/A

sukeedog's Review

heidimotsch
January 12, 2013
N/A

carolfitz's Review

MsSaya
October 15, 2012
We've made some really good stews from this issue, but never got around to this one til now. Finally bought some hard cider, farmstand squash & made to recipe (with the addition of two thin-sliced garlic cloves). We skinned and boned the chicken so also prepped soup stock for later in the week. The kitchen smelled so great and we had an excellent supper.

beckyhomecky's Review

TwinkleGardens
February 04, 2012
yummy!..had a friend helped me make it which was good bonding time and made it less tedious to cook the chicken for 2x the recipe. also bought fresh, peeled, cubed squash from trader joe's which saved LOTs of time. i plan to make it again today and i think i'll use the sparkling cider i have on hand

caseym11's Review

sukeedog
September 18, 2011
We never even bothered trying this recipe as intended - with fermented, dry cider. We have just made it, since it was published, with regular apple cider. Delicious. Super thick & flavorful - even my kids (from infancy when they started eating solid foods, mixed with water a bit -- to age 4) have always liked it. We serve it with a salad & a crusty mixed grain baguette. Heaven. One of the only reasons I look forward to fall & plant butternut squash in my garden now. I would be frightened to attempt it with hard cider.

ChefAmandaLynn's Review

caseym11
February 12, 2011
I agree with other posters, 95 minutes cooking the chicken would have been way too much. I added the squash as soon as I had peeled and chopped it. Loved the flavors and I was surprised my husband soes too. I used sparkling apple cider and skipped the almonds.

TwinkleGardens's Review

beckyhomecky
December 26, 2010
This recipe was fantastic! My boyfriend and I were snowed in and decided to attempt our first stew. I highly recommend this recipe...the only thing we changed was adding quite a bit of cayenne pepper and pairing it with whole wheat bread. Next time we will add steamed green beans for something refreshing. Definitely try this out~

DesireeD's Review

MDCook2
April 23, 2009
I thought this recipe was delicious. The only thing I added to give it a little more flavor was some onion salt and onion powder. I will definitely be making this one again!

MsSaya's Review

JenTournesol
February 08, 2009
This is one of my favorite winter meals. It's time consuming but worth it. Great comfort food. Make sure you don't burn it though. Also, the kind of hard cider you use matters. Once they only had "granny smith" hard cider and it wasn't right.