Chicken Curry Stew with Roasted Veggies

 A funny thing happened when I tried to make chicken curry... 

I had an idea floating in my head, just some steps to try a different method of making chicken curry. It included roasting all of the vegetables together (love that roasted flavor), then add the broth and coconut milk and purée in the blender. After this part is made, you would warm in a large pot and then add the chicken. Sounds like a good idea right? And it was very good! The funny thing though, it wasn’t the look or consistency of chicken curry, but more the texture of a chicken curry “stew” 😬. So, when this happens, it is not a recipe failure, it just requires renaming the dish! 😆 Thus, we have Chicken Curry Stew, and it is oh so good.  

This makes enough for about 8 bowls, so there is plenty if you want to divide the recipe after cooking and place in a freezer bag to have for one of those days.

INGREDIENTS -

Meat from a rotisserie chicken
2 cups sweet potatoes, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 1/2 cups carrots, cut into 1 inch chunks
2 cups chopped sweet onion
4 cups Chicken or Vegetable broth
1/2 cup white wine
1 1/2 Tbsp panang (or your favorite) curry paste
1 cup coconut milk
4 Tbs olive oil, divided
Garnishes - chopped peanuts, cilantro, thai basil, sprouts, jalapeno, or your favorite.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the chunks of sweet potato, carrot, and half the onion on a 9 x 13 pan and coat with 2 Tbs of olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and roast in the oven at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, stirring a time or two.

While the vegetables are roasting, heat the remaining 2 Tbs of olive oil to medium high in a large heavy pot. Add the remaining onion to the pot and cook for 7-10 minutes, stirring, until soft. To the onions, add the broth, wine, curry paste and coconut milk, stirring to blend, allowing the mixture to warm through. 

When the vegetables are done roasting, place them in the vitamix, or other blender. Add the curry mixture to the blender, if it doesn’t all fit, no worries, just include enough curry mix that will allow the vegetables to blend well to a chunky puree. Combine the vitamix ingredients back to the pot, stir in the chicken, and simmer on low for about ten minutes. Another method I tried that works just fine - add the roasted vegetables to the curry mix and puree with an immersion blender, then add chicken - a little bit chunkier but it works just fine.

To serve, top with your favorite curry toppings such as chopped peanuts or cashews, cilantro, thai basil, sprouts, and jalapeno.

This is another great recipe to prepare on a day of making freezer meals, it holds up well in a freezer bag!

Enjoy!