A simple, tasty and colorful recipe to bid farewell to the season

• 1 chopped chicken
• 1 onion
• 2 carrots
• 1/2 red pepper
• 200 ml of fried tomato sauce
• 100 g sliced mushrooms
• 200 ml white wine
• 200 ml broth
• 2 cloves of garlic
• Bay leaf
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Salt to taste

1. Prepare the chicken and cut the vegetables

Chop the chicken if you don’t have it ready, season with salt and pepper, and set aside. Peel the onion and cut it into julienne strips. Do the same with the carrots, cutting them into small pieces, and with the pepper, which will be in strips. Having everything ready before starting helps a lot in this type of recipe, because then the stew requires one thing to follow another without too many pauses.

2. Brown the chicken to seal it well

Pour a good splash of extra virgin olive oil into a deep pan and brown the chicken on all sides until well sealed. There’s no need to cook it completely at this point: the important thing is for it to get some color and start developing flavor. Once browned, remove and set aside. This first step significantly influences the final result of the stew.

3. Sauté the base of the stew

In the same oil, sauté the onion, garlic, and a bay leaf for a few minutes, until they begin to soften. Then, add the carrots and peppers and cook over medium heat until the vegetables begin to soften. There’s no need to rush here: this time over medium heat helps the stew develop flavor and ensures the vegetables are truly integrated, so they don’t just seem like they “happened to be there.”

4. Add the wine and tomato

Once the vegetables are cooking, add the white wine and turn up the heat slightly to evaporate the alcohol. Then, add the fried tomato and mix well. At this point, the stew already starts to smell like real food, the kind that calls for a spoon, bread, or both.

5. Add the mushrooms, spices, and return the chicken

Add the sliced mushrooms, salt, and spices to taste. Return the chicken to the pan and pour in the broth. Mix carefully so everything is well distributed and begin the calm part of the recipe, letting the stew do its work without overthinking it too much.

6. Cook over medium-low heat until tender

Cook the mixture over medium-low heat for 35 to 40 minutes, stirring occasionally. The idea is for the chicken to finish cooking slowly, for the sauce to concentrate a bit, and for the vegetables to be tender but still recognizable. When you see that everything is well stewed, adjust salt if necessary and sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley before serving.

Tips for making this spring chicken even better

Don’t skip searing the chicken. That initial browning isn’t just a formality. It helps the meat have better flavor and gives the stew more depth from the start.

Cut the vegetables to a decent size. If you make them too small, they will disappear too much during cooking. Here, it’s good for them to continue adding texture and color to the dish.

Let the wine reduce well. It’s a small but important detail. This prevents the stew from having an overly alcoholic taste and makes it more well-rounded.

Watch the heat. A deep skillet is especially useful in this recipe because it allows you to cook everything in one piece and control the stew’s cooking well, from the initial browning to the final stretch over gentler heat.

Nutritional aspects of this recipe

This spring chicken makes a lot of sense as a daily recipe because it combines animal protein with a good presence of vegetables. The chicken provides satiety and is versatile, while the onion, carrot, peppers, and mushrooms make the dish gain in fiber, color, and variety.

Furthermore, being a stew cooked with simple and recognizable ingredients, it fits very well into a real and sensible kitchen: without strange complications, without unnecessary excesses, and with products that are usually within anyone’s reach. It is not a “light” recipe in a sad sense, but a complete, friendly, and easy-to-enjoy recipe.

Possible recipe variations

With more seasonal vegetables
You can add peas, asparagus tips, or some green beans if you want to further enhance that spring feel. Almost anything goes.

With a more aromatic touch
A little thyme or rosemary can fit very well if you feel like giving it a different nuance without completely changing the recipe.

With a lighter or more reduced sauce
If you like it more soupy, you can adjust the amount of broth a bit. If you prefer it more concentrated, just let it reduce for a few more minutes at the end.

With accompaniment
It goes very well with white rice, with some boiled potatoes, or simply with a good piece of bread. Because the sauce is not meant to be left there living an independent life.

When to prepare this spring chicken

It’s a very good recipe to say goodbye to spring because it uses fresh, everyday, and affordable ingredients, but without falling into a dish that is too light or too wintery. It has that comfortable balance between seasonal cooking and real homemade food.

In addition, it works especially well when you feel like cooking once and sitting everyone at the table with something that they like, nourishes, and doesn’t complicate things too much. It’s one of those recipes that seem simple —because they are—, but that leave a feeling of a meal well made.

To finish

This spring chicken demonstrates quite well that you don’t need to complicate things to cook something tasty, attractive, and very rewarding. A good sofrito, colorful vegetables, well-stewed chicken, and a sauce that calls for bread: sometimes the most appetizing cooking is exactly that.