Garbure Style Chicken Stew #French Fridays with Dorie

I had been waiting all week to tell you about this Chicken Stew... 

It was So. Damn. Delicious. 

This Friday the Doristas were assigned cook "Garbure from the Supermarket." Garbure is a rustic French Stew with white beans, meat and veggies.  Dories says, while "bacon or split pork, cured ham, and/or garlic sausage" may or may not be in it, " there is almost always duck confit" in it. My stew however was made on a budget and did not have any duck confit or ham or garlic sausage. But like a traditional Garbure it was gently simmered  on the back of the stove until it was thick enough for a heavy wooden spoon to stand upright on it.

At the discussion forum of French Fridays with Dorie, Diane Balch had mentioned that those who weren't using duck confit might want to throw in a bay leaf and some thyme into the stew . I did that and also added some savory for flavor.  I cannot say if it was the herbs or the slow simmering or the combination of the meat and veggies... but all that put together made one hearty pot of stew that we enjoyed throughout the week...

And for whatever reason the stew only got better everyday..

Garbure Style Chicken Stew

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Recipe by Tanusree Khandai

Cook time: 2 ½ hours                                           Total time: minimun 3 ½ hours including soaking time
Serves: 6
Ingredients

• ½ cup cannellini beans
• 2 strips of bacon, cut into small pieces
• 1 medium sized Spanish onion, cut into 8 wedges
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 leek, white and light green parts only, split lengthwise, washed and cut into 1-inch long pieces
• 4 green onions, thinly sliced
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp dried savory
• 6 cups chicken broth (or 6 cups water + 3 chicken bouillon cubes )
• 2 medium sized carrots, trimmed, peeled, quartered lengthwise and cut into 1-inch long pieces
• 2 stalks of celery, trimmed and cut into 1 inch long pieces
• 1 medium sized turnip, peeled and diced
• 1 medium sized potato, peeled and diced
• ⅓ medium sized green cabbage, cored, outer leaves removed, shredded
• 2 chicken legs, deskinned
• 1 ½ tsps garlic salt
• 1 tsp white pepper
• ½ tsp crushed red pepper
• 2 chicken sausage, cut into ½ sliced diagonally

Cooking Directions

1. Rinse the beans, cover with few inches of water, bring it to a boil and boil for 1 minute. Turn off the heat, cover and set aside for 1 hour or refrigerate overnight.
2. When ready to cook, drain off the beans, rinse and keep aside.
3. Set a big heavy botton vessel or a Dutch oven pot over medium-low heat.
4. Add the pieces of bacon. Turning them often, cook the bacon bits until they are browned and crispy. Then transfer the bacon bits into a bowl, leaving the fat in the pot for cooking.
5. Keeping the heat at medium-low, add the Spanish and green onions, garlic, leek, the bay leaves and the herbs, stir and mix so that the veggies are are well coated with the fat and herbs, then cover and stirring frequently, cook until the vegetables become soft and translucent, about 10 minutes.
6. Pour the broth or water and bouillon cubes into the pot, add the carrots, celery, turnip, potato and cabbage as well as the reserved cannilini beans, the chicken legs and half of the cooked bacon bits. 
7. Bring the pot of veggies and meat to a boil, then  reduce the heat so that the stew simmers gently.
8. Now partially cover the pot and stirring occasionally cook the stew for 1 hour.
9. After an hour, using a tong, pick the chicken legs out. Using two forks, pull out the meat from bones, discard the bones and put the meat back into the simmering pot of stew.
10. Stir in the garlic salt, white pepper and crushed red pepper and simmer the stew for another 45 minutes.
11. Add the sliced chicken sausage and stirring occasionally simmer for the final 45 minutes. 
12. The stew is now ready, check the seasoning, adjust the salt and pepper then turn off the heat and ladle it into the serving bowls. 
13. Serve with a crusty bread and enjoy ! 

I highly recommend that you cook the stew few hours in advance and make a big batch whenever you decide to make some.. The taste just gets better with time.... 

Visit French Fridays with Dorie to know what the other members thought about Garbure. You can find the original recipe and more such delicious recipes in Dorie Greenspan's book  Around my French Table. 

I shall be sharing this at the following parties...

Monday 
 Mix it up Monday,  The Scoop, Made with love Monday, 
Marvelous Mondays @ This Gal Cooks, Recipe Sharing @ Jam Hands
Melt in your Mouth Monday, Inspiration Monday Party 
Inspire Me Monday, Clever Chicks Blog Hop

Tuesday 
Totally Tasty Tuesday @ Mandy's Recipe Box,
 Tasteful Tuesday Party @ Nap Time Creations, Show Me What You Got @ Our Delightful Home ,  Hand Made Tuesday @ Ladybug Blessings
Share it Link Party @ Winthrop Chronicles,  Tasty Tuesday @ Anyonita Nibbles,  
Hearth and Soul blog Hop @ Zesty South Indian Kitchen,
In & Out of the Kitchen @ Feeding Big & More, Tuesday's Table @ Love in the Kitchen, 

Wednesday 
What's Cooking Wednesday @ Buns in my Oven, Cast Party Wednesday @ Lady Behind the Curtain, Show and Share @ Semi Homemade Mom, 
Wine'd Down Wednesday, Wonderful Food Wednesdays at @ All She Cooks
Wonderful Food Wednesdays at @ Mom's Test Kitchen 
Wednesday, Whatsit@White Lights on Wednesday, Create & Share @ The Trendy Tree House,
What I Whipped Up Wednesday @ Sugar & Dots Look, 
What I Made @ Creations by Kara

Thursday
Link it Up Thursday @ Seven Alive,
Fantastic Thursday @ Three Little Chiefs,  Thriving on Thursdays @ Domesblissity,  
Full Plate Thursday @ Miz Helen's Country Cottage , 
 Freedom Friday @ My Turn,  Pin it Thursday @ Sweet Bella Roos

Friday 
Foodie Friday @ Simple Living and Eating,  
Friday Linky Party @ The Pin Junkie, Get Him Feed @ Anyonita Nibbles
 Friday Favorite (DYI too) @ Simple Sweet Home, Foodie Friday @ Not Your Ordinary Recipes,
 Foodie Friday @ Rattlebridge Farm, Weekend Wonders @ The Thriftiness Miss, 
Friday Food Frenzy @ Mostly Food and Crafts, Weekend Potluck @ Sunflower Supper Club, 
The Weekend re-Treat @The Best Blog Recipes