Chicken with White Beans
You’ll see why people fall in love with the home cooking of central Italy when you taste this stew, lightly scented with the licorice flavor of fennel.
Prep Time:
Cooking Time: 45 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 large fennel bulb
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 12 ounces boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 3/4-inch pieces
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 (14-ounce) can stewed tomatoes
- 1 (14-ounce) can chicken broth
- 1 (14-ounce) can chicken broth
- 1/4 cup dry red wine
- 1 small bay leaf
- 1 (19-ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 1/4 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
Directions
Remove fennel bulb tops. Chop and reserve enough tops to measure 1/4 cup. Chop bulb into 1/2-inch pieces to measure 1/2 cup.
Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook fennel in hot oil, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.
Sprinkle chicken with rosemary and black pepper.
Add chicken to fennel mixture and mix well. Cook, stirring continually, for 2 minutes. Stir in undrained tomatoes and broth. Bring to a boil. Add wine and bay leaf; cover. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Stir in beans.
Simmer until chicken is cooked through and sauce is thickened, about 5 minutes. Season with hot pepper sauce. Remove bay leaf. Ladle into soup bowls. Sprinkle with reserved fennel tops.
Secret Tip
A fennel bulb grows in layers like an onion, so slice and chop it as you would an onion. First cut it in half vertically. Then make several lengthwise cuts in each half, followed by several crosswise cuts.
