Saying Adios to Winter and Hello to Spring

A great recipe to use up the last of the winter roots, along with a little nod to the vibrant colours of spring!

I know the ingredient list looks long, but it really isn't, I've put all the direction for ingredient prep beside it. And honestly, use whatever vegetables you have on hand, that's how I made this up. Cook all the "harder" vegetables first, then add the ones that take less time to cook up.

Root Veg and Chicken Hash – One Pot Recipe 

2 chicken boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch cubes

1 medium turnip, peeled and chopped into 1 inch pieces

1 small sweet potato, scrubbed and chopped into 1 inch pieces

5 regular red radishes, quartered

A handful of nugget potatoes, any variety, thoroughly washed

4 medium carrots, scrubbed and chopped into 1 inch slices

Asparagus, 1 bunch use only the top 1/3 of it (save the rest for another use)

1-2 large leaves of Swiss chard (chop the stalks up into ½ inch pieces; roughly chop the leaves)

1 medium onion, chopped coarsely

2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

1 tablespoon oil (vegetable, canola, or olive)

1-2 tablespoons vinegar, your favourite variety, (I used balsamic)

1 ½ cups of low sodium chicken stock

Fresh cooking herbs, 1 sprig of each (I used rosemary and thyme; I actually used these fresh herbs that I had washed and frozen in Ziploc bags, I find herbs turn faster than I can use them up, so freezing works well for me)

1 teaspoon (or maybe a little bit more) dried Italian seasoning (just the herbs only variety, no salt added)

½ teaspoon paprika

½ teaspoon pepper (or more to taste)

½ teaspoon salt (or more to taste)

Pinch ground cumin

Pinch ground nutmeg

Pinch ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon cornstarch

4-5 sage leaves (fresh or as above, fresh-frozen) – chopped in a chiffonade for garnish or parsley 

1. Add 1 tablespoon of oil to a large skillet and cook onion for 2-3 minutes until starting to get translucent; then add chicken and garlic and cook until chicken is no longer pink and is slightly browned. Deglaze the pan with the vinegar; stir and pick up any brown bits sticking to the bottom of skillet.

2. To the skillet, add the root vegetables (all vegetables except the asparagus and the swiss chard), 1 cup of the chicken stock, ¼ cup of water, the fresh cooking herbs, and all the spices, salt and seasonings. 

3. Cover and cook on medium for 10-12 minutes and then check the tenderness of the turnips and carrots. Just before these vegetables become fork tender, add in the asparagus and the Swiss chard leaves and stalks. Add the remaining ½ cup of chicken stock.

4. Cook for another 5-7 minutes, until the carrots and turnip are cooked through and the asparagus is fork tender. Meanwhile, mix the cornstarch with 1 tablespoon of cold water to make a slurry; add to skillet and mix well once the vegetables are cooked.

5. Taste and season as needed. Garnish with sage or parsley.

© Kooks in the Kitchen. 2015.