DIY: Chicken Stew with Sweet Plantains

I was inspired to make chicken stew with sweet plantains after my friend served me some leftovers of this dish. The stew was very fragrant and the flavors were new to my palette. She had gotten the recipe from the New York Times and passed it on to me. I was somewhat intimidated at first because of all of the herbs.

My friend used chicken thighs for her stew, but I decided to cut up a whole 3 pound chicken. Instead of eight pieces, I cut the chicken into ten perfect pieces by cutting the two breasts in half. I coated the chicken pieces with the following and refrigerated it overnight:

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon chile powder

2 teaspoons salt

3 teaspoons dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon orange zest

1 teaspoon lime zest

1 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

The next day when I was ready to cook the stew, I heated up my Martha Stewart Dutch oven over medium-high heat. I added some olive oil and started cooking the chicken pieces until it was golden brown. I transferred the chicken into a bowl.

I cut up two plantains into half inch pieces and browned them in some olive oil in the same pot used for the chicken. I transferred the plantains to the same bowl as the chicken.

In more olive oil, I sautéed a diced onion, a red bell pepper, and three garlic cloves with a pinch of salt until it was soft.

To the pot, I added the following in medium high heat:

3 chopped Roma tomatoes

half a carton of grape tomatoes (approximately 6 oz.)

2/3 cup of orange juice

1 cup of water

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

the bowl of chicken and plantains

Once I got it to a simmer, I covered the pot and lowered the heat to medium low for about thirty minutes. I mixed in a 1/2 cup of green pitted olives and the juice of half a lime, and topped it off with cilantro.

I served the stew over some hot white rice. It was amazing.