20101216 Vegetable Stew with Chicken

(SOURCE: SimpleDailyRecipes.com - Vegetable Stew with a little Chicken)

I felt that we should have a vegetable dish this week before stuffing our face with all kind of Christmas goodies next week. But I know plain vegetable stew will not please my meat-loving husband, so I have chosen this dish. The stew has lots of vegetable and some shredded chicken. I served a big bowl of stew with some garlic ciabatta - I used a handful of dried basil instead and it was still good. It was a filling dinner that kept me warm for a Christmas concert at a basilica with poor heating!

INGREDIENTS
3 tbsp oil
1 medium onion, chopped
4 medium carrots, chopped
3 celery stalks, finely chopped
4 medium potatoes, peeled, cut into 3/4-inch chunks
1 1/2 tsp dried parsley
1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 bay leaf
400g can whole tomatoes
1 cup corn
500ml chicken broth
hot water
2 cups cooked shredded chicken

METHOD
1. Meat oil in a large dutch oven over medium heat, and cook onion, carrots and celery until soften. Stir in all the dried herbs. Add in whole tomatoes with their juice and break up the tomatoes into smaller chunks using a wooden spoon.
2. Add in corn, potatoes and chicken broth. Add ennough hot water to cover all the vegetables with 1/2 inch liquid. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer. Cover with lid and cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are fork tender.
3. Remove the bay leaf and stir in the cooked, shredded chicken.