Chicken and eggplant Stew
My mom is an incredible cook! She just knows how to make everything so good that you can’t just have one serving. She was my first inspiration for learning how to cook. She taught us kids how to make some of the basics. She always said that if you know how to cook, you can survive anywhere!
She makes a version of this recipe but with pork chops that is out of this world. I took her recipe and added a few more things, and I use chicken legs instead of pork chops. I have made it with both pork chops and pork chunks. Every single time I make it, it turns out to be a masterpiece. If you want to make it vegetarian, use some tofu cubes and replace the chicken bouillon with vegetable bouillon. Reduce the cooking time when using tofu. And even though in the video I made it with brown rice, you can accompany the stew with many things: white rice, mashed potatoes, boiled potatoes, cassava, beets, or parsnips, and on and on. I even have a friend that is cutting carbs and puts it on top of her salads! It goes great with everything.
I prefer to use chicken legs and thighs because dark meat is so more flavorful than white meat. You can use boneless, but to me, bones are the way to go. They add more flavor. Remove the skin and trim most of the fat from them before cooking. If you leave all the fat, you will have a layer of liquid fat on top of your stew and it is a chore to remove it all. A little bit of fat goes a long way.
The base for the recipe is the sofrito. Sofrito is something that you can use to make stews, beans, yellow rice, and soups. You can buy sofrito in some Latin grocery stores. This sofrito is full of flavor and spice, and you will not find it premade in any store.
Chicken and eggplant stew
A delicious stew using a sofrito base. It is adaptable to any protein of your choice.
Ingredients
Sofrito
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1.5 cup onion
- 1 cup green pepper
- 2 tbsp minced garlic
- 1 tbsp ham bouillon
- 1 tsp coriander ground
- 1 tsp basil
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
- 1 envelope Sazon
- 1 cup tomato sauce
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 tbsp oregano chopped
- 1 tbsp culantro chopped
- 2 tbsp Spanish alcaparrado
- ¼ tsp Cayenne pepper
Stew
- 3 cup eggplant peeled and cubed
- 5 chicken leg quarters skinned, trimmed and cut
- Salt
- Pepper
- 1 cup wine
Instructions
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In a large pot, heat the olive oil. Once the oil is hot, add the onion, pepper, and garlic and sauté until the onions are translucent. Lower the heat to Medium.
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Add bouillon, coriander, basil, paprika, Sazon, stir and cook for 2 – 3 minutes.
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Add the tomato sauce, bay leaves, oregano, culantro, cayenne pepper and Spanish alcaparrado. Cook for 5 minutes.
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Season the chicken leg quarters with salt and pepper.
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Add the chicken to the pot, covering it with the sofrito.
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Add the wine, stir and cover the pot. Cook for 20 minutes or until the sauce starts to thicken.
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Peel the eggplant and cut into small ½” cubes.
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Add the eggplant cubes into the stew and stir. Cover the pot and cook for 20 more minutes.
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The stew is ready when the chunks of eggplant are soft like pillows and the sauce is thick.
Recipe Notes
Serve over rice (brown rice recipe is included in this video), potatoes or any tubers or vegetables of your choice.
