30-minute dinner for two: mediterranean chicken stew

dinner ingredients:
mediterranean chicken stew

voilá--to make amends for being away so long, i offer you 30-minute dinner #2: mediterranean chicken stew. this recipe is something i whipped up on the fly when we were hardcore into the south beach diet. yes--it's healthy and yes--you can even eat this during the first phase of the diet. it's also awfully tasty and quick to make. and the big bonus is that this meal is all cooked in a single pan--just say yes to easy clean-up!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 whole boneless chicken breast (or two split breasts--same thing)
• 1 large clove of garlic
• 2 stalks of celery
• about 1/3 of a large yellow onion
• olive oil
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1 small (14.5 oz.) can of peeled, whole tomatoes
• 1 can of artichoke hearts
• 3 sprigs of fresh thyme
• 3 sprigs of fresh rosemary
• 1 fresh bay leaf or 3 dried ones
• 10-12 stalks of asparagus
• 1/2 a lemon
• salt and fresh black pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

food prep first: cut the chicken into 1-inch pieces, slice the celery stalks into 1/2-inch slices, and sliver the onion. next drain the artichoke hearts, cut each in half, and set aside. pour 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil into a large skillet for which you have a lid. add the garlic through a press and heat on med-high heat until the oil is hot. add the chicken and quickly stir so that each piece is coated with olive oil. immediately add celery and onion and sautee until the chicken is slightly browned on all sides, about 2 minutes. add white wine and crush tomatoes into the pan with your hands. (note: you can also used diced tomatoes if you prefer--i did tonight because that is what i happened to have on hand.) stir and bring to a boil. add artichoke hearts (progresso is my preferred brand--again, not what i had on hand tonight), thyme, rosemary, bay leaves, and some fresh black pepper. reduce heat to low/medium, cover, and let simmer for about 13 minutes. meanwhile cut asparagus into bite sized pieces. after 13 minutes, add asparagus to the pan and continue cooking, covered, for about 5-6 more minutes. remove from heat and sqeeze the lemon into the stew. remove the herbs and add salt and pepper to taste.

when not south beaching, the hippie and i eat this with some hard crusty bread, preferably someting with rosemary in it, like the rosemary demi-batard we got from whole foods for tonight. it's also good with some fresh parmesan shredded on top. i recommend serving this stew with a light red wine such as sogno divino montepulciano d'abruzzo from italy, which is a mere $8.50 a bottle at our local wine store.