Cooking For Others: Late-Summer Chicken Stew

Serves 3-4

Ingredients
2.5 pounds chicken (I used 3 chicken drumsticks and 4 chicken thighs, all skin on)
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
freshly ground pepper
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
½ red onion, chopped
1 red pepper, diced
¼ small jalepeno pepper, minced
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
3 garlic cloves, peeled and left whole
Juice of half a lemon
¾ cups white wine
¾ cups chicken broth (or water)
¼ cup mixed fresh herbs—whatever the garden gives you. I used a combination of basil, lemon thyme, oregano, and chives.

1 1/2 cups white rice

Season the chicken pieces on both sides with about ¾ teaspoons salt and lots of pepper.

Over high heat, brown the chicken in the oil, in a large Dutch oven. Be sure not to crowd the pan—you’ll probably have to do this in two batches. Chicken pieces will take 3-6 minutes to brown. Remove to a plate.

Turn the heat to medium low and add the onions. Cook for about 3 minutes, until nearly translucent. Add the red pepper and the minced jalepenos and cook for another 2-3 minutes, until the peppers soften. Add the cherry tomatoes and cook just until they begin to break apart. Add the garlic cloves and the remaining salt. Squeeze the lemon over and mix to combine.

Arrange the chicken on top of the vegetables, and stir in the fresh herbs. Pour the white wine and chicken broth over everything; the chicken pieces should be nearly submerged.

Cook for about 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Towards the end, taste for salt. The chicken should be cooked through and even slightly falling apart.

Serve over the rice, along with some bread if you like. Top each serving with more fresh herbs and drizzle with some basil oil if you have it.