Chicken Stoup

This came from Rachel Ray on "30 Minute Meals" on the Food Network

If you haven’t watched her, you should.

Rachel says that stoup is thicker than soup and thinner than stew and best of all, a one-pot meal.

I say, "Go Rachel."

Kay saw this last Saturday and thought it would be good. I wasn’t impressed. I should have been.

Not all that much work and pretty good. If you want a little more flavor you might want to have some hot sauce, Radich’s Bor-Do-Lay or Worcestershire Sauce handy but Kay loved it just the way it was. Best of all, we have leftovers…..

2 med. carrots, peeled and diced

2 cloves garlic, chopped (try from a jar)

2 T Olive oil, extra virgin (EVOO)

1 med. zucchini

1 sm.--med. red bell pepper

1 med. onion, yellow skin, peeled and halved

salt and pepper

1 T herbes de Provence or 1 t ea. dried sage, rosemary and thyme (The herbes is expensive but you may use it up during the winter by preparing this dish 3-4 times)

1 ½ lb. Small red skinned potatoes (the smaller the better)

1 C dry white wine (I used 1 ½ C) (and 1 C for me)

1 (14 oz.)can diced tomatoes

1 qt + 1 C chicken stock (I used broth)

1 lb. Chicken tenders, diced to bite size pieces (I used boneless/skinless breasts)

1 sm. jar black olive tapenade (about 4 oz) (I found an olive tapenade with garlic and threw it out. Go to a deli and get some fresh. It really "makes" the flavor come out.)

1 T flat-leaf parsley, chopped

and some crusty bread to pass around to sop up the liquid.

One medium soup pot preheated over medium high heat. While the soup pot heats, chop carrots into 1/4-inch dice, then add garlic, and stir to coat in extra-virgin olive oil. Chop and drop in the zucchini, pepper and onion next, 1/2 inch dice. Season the veggies with salt and pepper and herbes de Provence (the jar I found said Herbes from Provence not "de"). Cook the veggies together 5 minutes. While they cook, cut potatoes into thin wedges (the thinner the better). Add wine to vegetables (and some for the cook) and reduce a minute or so. Add the tomatoes, cut potatoes and stock to the pot, cover the pot and raise heat to high. Bring the stoup to a boil, add chicken and simmer 8 to10 minutes until potatoes are just tender and chicken is cooked through.

Serve stoup in shallow bowls and stir in a rounded spoonful of black olive tapenade at the table. Top soup with chopped parsley and pass crusty bread at the table for dipping and mopping.

We had it with Doré’s Salad.