Stewed Chicken with Carrots: Pan-Fried Drumsticks Braised with Vegetables

Name: Stewed Chicken with Carrots and Tomato Sauce
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 55 min
Total time: 1 h 10 min
Cuisine: European
Ingredients: Chicken drumsticks 6; Carrots 2-3; Onion 2; Tomato 1; Parsley, basil 1-2 sprigs; Garlic 3 cloves; Olive oil 50 ml; Water (boiling) 2 cups (500 ml); Sugar 1 tsp (5 g); Salt, black pepper, hot red pepper, dried Mediterranean herbs to taste

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70 mins

Just a quarter of a century ago, seeing fresh chicken for sale in an ordinary store was like spotting a UFO. Sometimes the local grocery would get “live” chicks, skinny and, by the look of them, tortured. But that was rare. So homemade chicken dishes were something extraordinary rather than an everyday thing.

The domestic chicken (Gallus domesticus) is the most common kind of poultry, an invaluable source of meat, eggs, feathers and trouble in the vegetable garden. Oh, how my grandmother’s chickens in the village “got” to me with their endless raids on the garden to do damage. But well-cooked chicken made up for all the frayed nerves.

My favorite dish from childhood is chicken soup with vermicelli and herbs. Of course, broth from a farm chicken and broth from a store-bought one are two different broths. But with a few tricks you can still make a very good soup.

Usually, hardly anyone buys a whole chicken for home cooking. Nowadays you can buy individual parts of the chicken in the amount you need. Drumsticks and wings are handy for soups, chicken breast for cutlets, and from chicken thighs, tender cutlets.

Delicious homemade chicken with carrots is made here with chicken drumsticks. Drumsticks are very good for portioned cooking. The basic recipe is stewed chicken with vegetables; for variety, there is chicken stewed with beans.

More with chicken legs and carrots

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Chicken Risotto with Parmesan

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Ingredients

2 servings

Chicken drumsticks 6
Carrots 2-3
Onion 2
Tomato 1
Parsley, basil 1-2 sprigs
Garlic 3 cloves
Olive oil 50 ml
Water (boiling) 2 cups (500 ml)
Sugar 1 tsp (5 g)
Salt, black pepper, hot red pepper, dried Mediterranean herbs to taste

Step-by-step recipe

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Preparing the chicken

When you cook chicken with carrots, there is no need to buy a whole chicken, especially for a small family. Cooking just parts of the chicken, such as drumsticks, wings or leg quarters, is quite enough. Chicken with carrots is tastiest when made from drumsticks.
Wash the drumsticks, remove any leftover feathers and take off the skin.
I admit, I don’t like stewed dishes with bits of chicken skin left. It’s a different story with fried leg quarters , where the crispy crust is pure charm and pleasure.
Cut off the protruding bone end so that you are left with a round piece of chicken with the bone inside.
Salt the chicken to taste and sprinkle with coarsely ground black pepper. Coat the pieces with dried aromatic herbs typical of Mediterranean cooking: oregano, basil, savory and so on. Leave the drumsticks for 15 mins while you prepare the vegetables.

Vegetables and tomato puree

Peel all the vegetables.
Scald the tomato with boiling water and remove the skin and seeds.
Puree the flesh in a blender with a clove of garlic and a few basil and parsley leaves.
Someone may ask why the tomato puree doesn’t turn out red. With this much greenery, it can’t be red.
Cut the onion into thick strips.
Grate the carrot on a medium grater. If it’s the season for young vegetables, it’s worth using young carrots: then the chicken with carrots turns out especially tasty. Young carrots are very sweet and juicy.

Frying and stewing

In a sauté pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat and fry two peeled garlic cloves, flattened with the side of a knife. When the garlic starts to change color, throw it out. It has flavored the olive oil.
Add the prepared chicken drumsticks to the oil.
Fry the chicken over high heat on all sides until a golden crust appears.
Reduce the heat to medium, add the sliced onion and, stirring, fry the chicken and onion until the onion is golden and slightly sweet. Don’t overcook the onion, or the chicken with carrots will have an off taste.
Add the grated carrot and fry for 5 mins, stirring. The carrot will have time to soften.
Season lightly with salt and pepper and add 1 tsp sugar (5 g).
Add 2 cups of boiling water (400 ml), reduce the heat to low, cover the sauté pan with a lid and let the chicken and carrots stew for 30 mins.
Add the tomato and herb puree to the chicken. Add water if needed so that the sauce has the consistency of thin sour cream. If you think there isn’t enough tomato, use more tomatoes or add a little tomato paste, as you like. Add more spices to taste.
Simmer the chicken with carrots under a lid over low heat for another 10 mins, until the meat comes away from the bone easily.
Many people love spicy food: if you like, sprinkle on 1-2 pinches of coarsely ground chili pod. Chicken with carrots with a little heat is even tastier.

Serving

Transfer the stewed chicken with carrots to plates and sprinkle with finely chopped parsley. Chicken with carrots is served hot. Mashed potatoes or spicy rice with chili are a great side dish.

Calories and macros

685 kcal

Serving ≈ 660 g

Protein45 g27% of kcal
Fat45 g61% of kcal
Carbs20 g12% of kcal

100 g104 kcalProtein 6.8 gFat 6.8 gCarbs 3.1 g

Calculated from the recipe ingredients, excluding salt and spices. Data: USDA and Matvaretabellen.

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