Chicken and zucchini stew

Warm and comforting chicken stew gets jazzed up when cooked with zucchini. If you love any kind of summer squash, you'll love the flavors here. It's slightly spicy, juicy and tomato-y. And I love when the zucchini cooks till almost tender, it just melts away in your mouth! It's perfect with piping hot rice or ripped up pieces of warm pita bread or roti.

I love Guyanese-style squash, but when I can't find it at my local Asian market, I use zucchini in place. My family loves this for dinner. I make it without chicken for my older son and I watch him pick out each zucchini from his plate and eat it all by itself, then lick his fingers before going in again.

No matter the season, I'm always able to find zucchini at my local grocer. It's an inexpensive vegetable and can be cooked different ways. I love making kebabs with zucchini, red onions, and chicken then throwing it on the grill. Delicious!

Note: Zucchini is actually a fruit, but in culinary context it's recognized as a vegetable. 

What to look for when buying zucchini

The skin should be shiny and firm to the touch. I like to pick ones that are darker green in color. The skin is quite thin and can bruise or nick easily, but that isn't an indication that it's going bad. If the skin looks shriveled, then pass. It's probably old and has been sitting for a while.

I used chicken tenderloins for this recipe because that's what I had on hand. Bone-in or boneless chicken can work with this recipe. I also like using chicken thighs.

Chicken and zucchini stew

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Ingredients

• 3-4 medium sized zucchini, diced into 1-inch pieces
• 1 small onion, sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 hot chili peppers (optional)
• 2 large plum tomatoes, diced
• 2 tsp tomato paste
• ¼ tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp salt or 1 small bouillon cube
• 1 tsp dried parsley
• 1 tsp dried fresh thyme
• 3 tbsp oil

Chicken seasoning

• 1lb to 2lb chicken thighs or breasts, cut in 2-in pieces
• 2 tbsp green seasoning
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp black pepper
• ½ tsp adobo
• ½ tsp paprika
• 1 tsp browning sauce
• 1 tbsp oil for marinating

Instructions

1. Prep chicken. Cut in 2 inch pieces. Pat chicken dry. Add seasoning and let marinate minimum 30 minutes.
2. When ready to cook, heat a heavy bottomed pot with 3 tbsp oil on medium heat. Add onion, garlic, and pepper. Cook until fragrant and onions are slightly browned.
3. Add chicken. Cook chicken 7-8 minutes until juices have almost dried down. Let chicken brown a little.
4. Add zucchini, tomatoes, tomato paste, and remaining seasoning.
5. Turn heat to medium low and let stew simmer until tomatoes have melted into a gravy. This should take around 15-20 minutes.
6. Stew is done when gravy is a little thick and zucchini is completely soft.

Notes

In place of green seasoning for chicken you can use ¼ onion, grated + 3 garlic cloves, crushed and 1 chili pepper, minced.

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