Provençal Chicken Stew

Course: Entree / Slow Cooker, Soup or Stew

Cuisine: French

Keyword: chicken stew, easy chicken stew, Provençal stew, slow-cooker stew

Prep Time: 20

Cook Time: 5 30

Total Time: 5 50

Servings:

Calories: 398kcal

Author: Kris Longwell

This Provençal Chicken Stew is so heart-warming and perfect for enternaining, especailly in the fall months. Start things off with a nice sear and saute in a large vessel, and then bring it all home in your slow-cooker. Crock-Pot is ideal!

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Equipment

Crock-Pot® 6-Quart Programmable Cook & Carry™ Slow Cooker

Ingredients

8 chicken pieces bone-in, skin removed
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp Kosher salt divided
1 tsp black pepper
2 tbsp olive oil divided
1 medium onion yellow, chopped
1 medium carrot sliced, about 1/4-inch thick
2 stalks celery sliced, about 1/4-inch thick
2 cloves garlic minced
8 oz. mushrooms button, quartered
1 tbsp herbs de Provence dried
½ cup white wine dry
½ cup chicken stock
1 14 oz. can crushed tomatoes
1 bay leaf
1 cup black olives pitted
2 tbsp flat-leaf parsley fresh, chopped for garnish

Instructions

Sprinkle salt and pepper all over the chicken pieces. Add the flour to a large platter or bowl and dredge the chicken pieces until fully coated. Shake off excess and set aside.
In a large skillet, or Dutch oven, heat 1 tbsp of the oil over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and sear until browned on both sides, about 8 minutes total. You will probably need to do this in batches. Add a little more oil for the second batch, if necessary. Set aside.
In the same skillet, heat another tbsp of oil and add the onion, carrots, and celery and saute until starting to soften, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Stir occassionally with a wooden spoon, scraping up the chicken pieces at the bottom of the pan.
Add the mushrooms and herbs de Provence and cook until mushrooms start to release liquid. About 4 more minutes.
Add the white wine and simmer for 3 minutes until slightly reduced. Add the chicken stock and tomatoes and simmer for another 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in 1 tsp of salt and a ½ tsp. black pepper.
Place the seared chicken in the bottom of the Crock-Pot and the pour the tomato mixture all-over the top. Nestle in the bay leaf.
Cook on the Low setting for 4 to 5 hours. Stir in the olives in the last 10 minutes of cooking. Taste and stir in more salt, if desired. Remove the bay leaf and discard.
Garnish with chopped parsley.

Video

Notes

You can use a whole chicken that has been cut into 8 pieces, or use a variety of bone-in chicken pieces. Removing the skin is critical, otherwise, it will become rubbery during the slow-cooking process.

Cut the vegetables and mushrooms a little larger than you normally would. The stew stands up to 'chunkier' pieces and they will reduce in size as they slow cook.

If you can't find Herbs de Provence, use a combination of dried thyme and rosemary.

We don't recommend slow-cooking the stew for more than 4 or 5 hours. If you do, the meat will be extremely fall-off-the-bone tender, but may leave chicken bone fragments in the stew.

We love serving the stew along side a bowl of hot, creamy mashed potatoes. Cooked linguine or creamy polenta are accompaniments, too.

The stew can be prepared up to 2 days in advance. Re-heat in the Crock-Pot on Low for 1 to 2 hours, or on Warm for several hours. The stew can be frozen for up to 2 months.

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