Piedmont Chicken Stew Recipe

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Mix the first 5 herbs and spices in a large plastic bag.
3. Wash chicken and pat dry.
4. Place chicken, one piece at a time, in the spices, close the bag, shake to thoroughly coat. set aside.
5. Heat a dutch oven over a medium high burner. Add oil.
6. Add onions, celery, and bell pepper. Saute (stir fry) 'til onions are translucent. remove, set aside.
7. Brown chicken. Return vegetables to the pot.
8. Add tomato sauce, tomatoes, sherry, chicken stock, and red pepper flakes. Mix well.
9. Bake, covered, 60 minutes. Uncover, bake another 30 minutes or more to reduce the sauce.
10. Stir occasionally to keep the thighs from raising to the top and drying out.
11. Serve over basmati or jasmine rice cooked in chicken stock with 1 or 2 cardomon pods or couscous cooked with lemon zest.
12. Freeze leftovers without the rice or couscous. Rice freezes nicely but couscous becomes soggy when thawed.