Dukan Greek Chicken Stew (it's a Paleo - ish recipe too!)

Greek Chicken Stew

We loved this recipe!

His only having a fruit smoothie and protein bar all day could have been the reason the male half of this couple loved this recipe.  It was pretty good.  This stew was perfect for us.  Easy to make, tasty, light but it warmed us up during that cold, windy weekend.

We found this recipe while googling "healthy stew recipes" -- as soon as we saw how easy it was and it had cauliflower, we knew we had to try it.  The male half loves cauliflower.   Our finished dish did not look nearly as good as the photo on the NY Times site though.  We left out the olives (male half doesn't like them and the author mentioned the salt content and we need to be a little more careful with our salt intake) and the feta cheese.

We also pulsed our tomatoes more than the author of the recipe did because the male half of this couple doesn't like chunky tomatoes.  This recipe is both a Dukan recipe (Cruise, Consolidation and Stabilization) and is a Paleo - ish recipe.  Use organic tomatoes and free range chicken to get closer to a Paleo meal.  We found some Paleo people against vinegars and some use in moderation.  This recipe calls for 2 T. which to us is not a whole lot.

RECIPE:
Serves: 2 if you're not having any starch (this actually could have been three servings, but as mentioned above, the male half only had a fruit smoothie and protein bar that day and I didn't want to leave one piece of chicken left on the pot -- I was stuffed and uncomfortable for a while after dinner -- note to self: save the one piece of chicken)
Prep Time: 10 minutes or so
Cook Time: 1.5 - 2 hours

1 T. extra virgin olive oil
1 red onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
6 - 8 boneless and skinless chicken thighs, some of the excess fat removed, rinse and pat dry (we used 6)
2 T. red wine vinegar
1 - 28 oz. can organic chopped tomatoes, with juice, pulsed in a food processor
1/2 t. cinnamon
sea salt and pepper to taste
1/2 t. dried thyme
2 cups cauliflower florets, sliced about 1/2" thick
1/2 T. dried parsley

The original recipe has you frying your chicken in a tablespoon of olive oil but we used our nonstick pan and fried the chicken without spray or using oil on the pan.  Fry chicken over medium high heat, browning each side, in batches if necessary.  Takes approximately 5 minutes on each side.  Remove the chicken and place on a plate.  Pour off any excess fat from the pan leaving the fried bits in the pan.  Add vinegar to pan and scrape up all the bits from the bottom on the pan.

Add the olive oil and turn heat down to medium.  Add the onion and a generous pinch of salt and cook, stir often and scrape the bottom of the pan until it begins to soften, about 5 minutes.  Turn the heat to low, cover and let the onions cook for about 10 minutes, stirring from time to time until lightly browned and very soft.  Add the garlic, stir together for about a minute, until the garlic is fragrant.  Add the tomatoes and their juices, cinnamon, thyme, and salt and pepper to taste.  Bring to a simmer and simmer 10 minutes, stirring from time to time, until the mixture is reduced slightly.

Return the chicken to the pot along with any juices accumulated on the plate.  If necessary, add enough water to barely cover the chicken.  We didn't need to add water.  Bring to a simmer, reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.  Add the cauliflower and simmer for another 20 minutes or until the cauliflower is tender and the chicken is very tender.  We cooked ours about 20 minutes longer than the recipe recommended, it took a while for our cauliflower to cook.  Stir in the parsley, taste and adjust seasonings.

We ate this as is, no starches or grains.  We save the leftover tomato sauce in the pan for an omelet the next day.

According to the author of the recipe, the stew keeps for 3 to 4 days and freezes well.  We ate all of ours but hope to make more!

Enjoy...we sure did!