Of course the piece of celery that escaped the wrath of the immersion blender is front and center.
This and the classic chicken stew were the two chicken stews I always made in my old life, though slightly more lengthy and complicated versions. I still have a soft spot for them both, but don't really eat legumes (peas, lima beans) or grains (corn) for lunch in my new life. But, soft spot. More vegetal chicken stews TK.
an onion
two stalks celery
4-5 chicken thighs
2 cups water
olive oil or butter
1 lb tomatoes
1/2 lb frozen lima beans
1/2 lb frozen corn
1 Tbsp flour or cornmeal
1 tsp dried oregano
Peel and chop the onion, and trim and chop the celery including the leaves if they look nice. Put the onion, celery, chicken, and water in a soup pot and bring to a strong simmer over high heat. Then turn the heat to low and let simmer partially covered for an hour.
Dice the tomatoes.
Remove the chicken to a cutting board and set aside. Puree the remaining broth and vegetables with an immersion blender until smooth, pour the pureed broth into a prep bowl and set aside.
Heat olive oil or butter in the soup pot over high heat and saute the tomatoes for a couple of minutes until just softened. Stir in the flour or cornmeal and oregano and cook for a couple minutes, then add the pureed broth back to the pot. Stir until the broth starts to thicken and simmer, then add the lima beans and corn. Simmer for ten minutes until the lima beans and corn are tender.
Separate the chicken meat from the skin and bone, and cut the meat into bite-size pieces.
Add the chicken meat back to the stew and simmer a few more minutes until heated through. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
