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Recipe

Southwestern Spiced Chicken & Black Bean Stew

By Tony Rosenfeld Fine Cooking Issue 56

Servings: four to six.

It’s well worth the effort to find a dried chipotle, which gives the broth a wonderful smoky spice. To make fried tortilla strips, cut corn or flour tortillas into long strips and fry in 350°F oil until they start to brown, about 2 minutes.

Ingredients

  • 2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
  • 3 thick slices bacon
  • 6 skinless, bone-in chicken thighs (about 2-1/4 lb.), large pieces of fat trimmed
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 large yellow onion, diced
  • 1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and finely diced
  • 2 tsp. chili powder
  • 1 tsp. ground cumin
  • 3/4 cup beer
  • 1 can (15-1/2 oz.) black beans, rinsed (about 2 cups)
  • 1 dried chipotle (optional)
  • 2 cups homemade or low-salt canned chicken broth; more if needed
  • 3 Tbs. chopped fresh cilantro leaves
  • 1 lime
  • Sour cream for garnish
  • Fried tortilla strips (optional)

Nutritional Information

  • Nutritional Sample Size based on six servings
  • Calories (kcal) : 350
  • Fat Calories (kcal): 180
  • Fat (g): 20
  • Saturated Fat (g): 6
  • Polyunsaturated Fat (g): 3
  • Monounsaturated Fat (g): 10
  • Cholesterol (mg): 70
  • Sodium (mg): 390
  • Carbohydrates (g): 20
  • Fiber (g): 6
  • Protein (g): 22

Preparation

  • Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven or heavy pot over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook until it renders much of its fat and crisps slightly, about 7 min. Transfer the bacon to a plate lined with paper towels. Season the chicken well with salt and pepper. Add half of the thighs to the pan and brown them well on both sides, 2 to 3 min. per side. Transfer to a plate. Brown the remaining thighs and reserve with the rest.
  • There should be 2 to 3 Tbs. fat left in the pan; if there’s more, spoon out and discard the excess. Add the onion and bell pepper, season well with salt, and cook, stirring often, until the onion softens and caramelizes slightly, about 7 min. Raise the heat to high, add the chili powder and cumin, and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Add the beer and cook until it’s almost completely reduced, about 3 min. Add the beans, the chipotle (if using), and the chicken broth. When the mixture comes to a boil, adjust the heat to maintain a simmer and cook for 5 min. Transfer 2 cups of the beans and broth (but not the chipotle) to a blender, purée, and then mix it back into the rest of the broth.
  • Return the thighs to the pot, cover with the lid slightly ajar, and simmer until the chicken is cooked through (check by slicing through the bottom of one of the thighs to the bone), about 30 min. If the stew is too thick, thin it with more chicken broth. Discard the chipotle. Crumble the reserved bacon. Juice one half of the lime; cut the other half into wedges. Stir the bacon, lime juice, and 2 Tbs. of the cilantro into the stew and season well with salt and pepper. Serve immediately, ladling some of the beans and chicken into each bowl. Sprinkle each serving with the remaining cilantro and a small dollop of sour cream. Serve with the lime wedges and fried tortilla strips, if you like.
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  • RDU | 10/03/2018

    Great flavor! It had a lot of sauce so I served it over rice.

  • pikpik | 02/14/2018

    Excellent recipe! I made it exactly as written only shredding the chicken as others have done. I agree thqt the amount of sauce would support more chicken.

  • mvlsi | 08/14/2017

    One of the first dishes I made from Fine Cooking and it remains one of my top 10. I do shred the chicken and discard the bones at the end just to make it easier to eat. I prefer starting with the bone-in thighs rather than boneless/skinless thighs for the flavor-packed fond that searing the skin develops.

  • kitzy | 02/10/2014

    Very good and I would make it again as a nice substitute to chili. Like others, I used a can of chipotles in adobo in place of the dried chilies and I used 1 whole boneless skinless breast instead of thighs. After browning the breast, I shredded it in the food processor. I'm trying the Mediterranean diet so I removed the bacon. We never missed it and given the recipe's richness, I think I would have preferred it without. I tried substituting low fat Greek yogurt for the sour cream, and thought it was actually better than the sour cream my husband used. The sour cream was richer, but the yogurt added a slight tartness that complimented the smoky, spicy dish. I live in a warm climate and eat a lot of spicy foods. The spice level was good for me, but the chipotles in adobo might be very spicy for some folks. If you are unsure, use half the can. I also used just 1cup of broth because I liked the thicker consistency. And I served it with the yougurt or sour cream and a scoop of pico de gallo. I made cole slaw with salsa-yogurt sauce as a side dish, and the crisp, cold, creamy slaw was a great pairing.

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