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Chicken & Root Vegetable Stew

The Innkeeper's Hotpot

Browned chicken thighs, leeks and the old roots of the realm (carrots, parsnips and turnips), simmered in a light gravy with peas. A whole supper in one pot.

Fork or mugMake-aheadHolds 3h+Protein-forward
Prep25 min
Cook1 hr
Total1 hr 25 min
YieldAbout 12 cups

At the table: In a slow cooker on warm, at 140°F or above, up to 3 hours.

Not yet table-tested. This recipe is written from standard, well-known methods and has not been through our test tables yet. The badge changes when it has.

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  1. As written: a one-pot stew.

  2. Use skin-on thighs and sear them skin-down until crisp, then make a pan sauce from the drippings with cider vinegar and a spoon of mustard to spoon over the top.

  3. Roast a chicken the day before and simmer its bones into your own stock for the broth, and bake barley bread to mop the bowl.

  4. Plate it as a hotpot: the roots cut in neat batons, the chicken on top, the sauce reduced until glossy, with crisp sage leaves and parsley oil.

Cooking at Hearth. The dish as written. Simple, honest, done well.

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Hero sheet

Why nowThighs stay tender through a long simmer, and the roots are the ones a medieval kitchen grew: no potatoes, which came later from the Americas.

Chicken & Root Vegetable Stew
Illustration generated with AI, not a photo of this recipe.

Ingredients

6

As written: About 12 cups.

Kosher salt means Diamond Crystal. With Morton kosher salt, use about half.

Method

  1. Pat the chicken dry and season with ½ teaspoon of the salt and the pepper. Heat the oil in a large heavy pot over medium-high heat and brown the chicken in two batches, about 5 minutes a batch. Move to a bowl.

    Look forBrowned on two sides. It doesn't need to be cooked through yet.

  2. Lower the heat to medium. Cook the onion and leeks 6 to 8 minutes, scraping up the browned bits. Stir in the garlic, thyme and sage for 1 minute, then the flour for 1 minute more.

  3. Pour in the broth a little at a time, stirring. Add the carrots, parsnips, turnips, bay leaves, the chicken and its juices, and the rest of the salt. Bring to a boil, then simmer partly covered 35 to 40 minutes.

    Look forA knife slides easily into the turnip, and the chicken is tender and at least 165°F.

  4. Stir in the peas and simmer 3 minutes. Take out the bay leaves, stir in the vinegar and parsley, and taste for salt.

Make ahead

Keeps 3 days in the fridge and freezes 3 months (add the peas when you reheat). Reheat until steaming hot all the way through.

Holding

In a slow cooker on warm, at 140°F or above, up to 3 hours.

Allergens

Contains wheat (flour). Always check labels on packaged ingredients.

Notes

Gluten-free: skip the flour, and at the end stir in 2 tablespoons cornstarch mixed with 3 tablespoons cold water; simmer 2 minutes.

Turnips and parsnips are the medieval roots. Potatoes work, but they came to Europe from the Americas after 1492.

Tavern Night

This dish's twist table (d6)

1–2The classic stands. No twist. Cook it as written.
3Herb swap. Swap the sage for rosemary
4Acid strike. A spoon of grainy mustard stirred in at the end
5Plating challenge. Ladle over a slice of toasted barley bread in each bowl, the old sop
6Host's boon. The Host picks any twist above, or the table invents one. The safety rule still applies.

Roll before you start cooking. No twist ever changes a time, a temperature or how done something must be.