This week, I have been eating so much chocolate that it might actually be illegal. I was shaking at a friend’s party last night, before which I had just made a big batch of chocolate desserts, and, not to be wasteful, licked the bowls and spatulas clean. Except I’ve been doing that every day this week, sometimes more than once a day, and I can’t talk about chocolate anymore right now.

But it’s almost spring! And that means cool enough for stews, but warm enough for us to want to lighten them up a bit. Chicken stew is one of my favorites.  I love one-pot meals, and love them even more if they’re flavorful, colorful and easy all at once.

Gather all the stew-y ingredients: chicken, potatoes, onions, garlic, carrots, bay leaves…and I belong to a CSA, so this is a perfect time to use those seasonal root vegetables, and I like to throw in greens like carrot tops and mizuna too.

Get out your dutch oven (my favorite is the Lodge Logic cast iron 5 qt, which is a total steal at less than $35, and has the added bonus of adding iron into your diet as you cook with it) and set it to 300. Dry the chicken with a paper towel and season it with salt and pepper. Heat vegetable oil in a pan in the dutch oven, and brown the chicken til it’s a nice golden hue:

Meanwhile, chop up the veggies. When the chicken’s browned, move it to a bowl.

One more dollop of oil, and saute the onions with salt til they soften. Add in garlic, and thyme, just til it’s fragrant, and then stir in 1/4 cup flour. Stir in 1/2 cup of dry white wine.

Can you tell it’s starting to get dark outside? We’re almost done with the prep.  Add in the broth slowly, then potatoes, carrots, bay leaves and chicken with juices. Get it to simmer, cover it, and cook it in the oven for about an hour.

When it’s done, stir in a cup of frozen peas and the chopped greens (in my case, mizuna and carrot tops). Cover for 5 minutes and eat!  Here’s the recipe:

SPRING CHICKEN STEW (adapted from America’s Test Kitchen’s Classic Chicken Stew)

Ingredients

• 3 pounds chicken thighs — I like bone-in and skin-on for more flavor, but for a lower-fat version, skip the skin
• salt and pepper
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 4 medium garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp minced fresh thyme leaves or 1/4 tsp dried
• 1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 3 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 1/2 pounds red potatoes (about 4-5 medium), cut into 3/4 inch chunks
• 1 pound carrots (about 6 medium), sliced 1/2 inch thick
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1/4 cup minced fresh parsley leaves and/or any other seasonal greens

Preparation

Adjust oven rack to the middle position and heat to 300 degrees. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper.

Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium high heat until just smoking. Brown the chicken lightly (about 6-8 minutes) and transfer to a bowl.

Add the remaining oil to the pot and heat until shimmering. Add the onions and 1/4 tsp salt and cook til softened, about 5 minues. Stir in the garlic and thyme and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the flour and cook for a minute, and then add in the wine, scraping up any browned bits.

Slowly whisk in the broth, smoothing out any lumps. Add in the potatoes, carrots, bay leave sand chicken with any accumulated juices and bring to a simmer. Cover, put in oven and cook for an hour.

Remove the pot from the oven and remove the bay leaves. Stir in the peas, cover and let stand for 5 minutes. Stir in parsley or other minced greens and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serves 6-8.