Simplest Chicken-and-Leek Stew

When my March Food & Wine arrived last week, I was super excited to see it was a "Healthy Recipes" edition.  One of the first recipes I came across was this Jamie Oliver recipe.  While very familiar with Oliver, I had never made any of his recipes. As it turns out, Oliver will be demonstrating this recipe on the upcoming season of his show Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution, which resumes this Spring.

As the recipe's title states, this is a very simple dish to prepare.  But simple in this case, does NOT mean short on flavor. The small amount of thyme and Dijon mustard really go a long way, and pair wonderfully with the mushrooms and leeks. I would say this isn't as stew like as I expected, but nonetheless it worked really well served over rice.

The Husband was a huge fan of this, and I also enjoyed it (though what I really loved was how quickly and easily this came together!).  The magazine's suggested wine pairing is a full bodied Chardonnay.

Simplest Chicken-and-Leek Stew

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 medium leeks, white and tender green parts only, thinly sliced
1/2 pound cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut into 2-inch pieces
All-purpose flour, for dusting
1 1/2 cups chicken stock or low-sodium broth
1 tablespoon chopped thyme
2 tablespoons sour cream
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

In a skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil. Add the leeks and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until softened, about 7 minutes. Add the mushrooms and season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook, stirring, until the mushrooms are tender, about 4 minutes. Scrape the leeks and mushrooms onto a plate.

Season the chicken with salt and pepper and lightly dust with flour, shaking off any excess. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil in the skillet. Add the chicken and cook over moderate heat until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Add the chicken stock and thyme and simmer over moderate heat until the chicken is just cooked through, about 1 minute. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the chicken to the plate with the vegetables.

Simmer the stock over moderately high heat until reduced by half, about 2 minutes. Return the chicken, leeks and mushrooms to the skillet and simmer over low heat until warmed through, about 1 minute.

In a small bowl, blend the sour cream with the mustard and stir into the stew. Remove the skillet from the heat. Season the stew with salt and pepper and serve.
 
Serve with rice.