Pollo guisados -- Stewed chickens, a Pinedo recipe

I have to admit that I love stews.  They are generally easy to fix, can contain a lot of flavors, feed a crowd, and can be made in advance.  This Pinedo recipe, on page 207, checks all those boxes.  

Her Recipe

My Translation

I also have to admit that I don't have any pigeons on hand, so I have to make this one with just chicken.  I noticed she didn't say to cut the birds up, but I assumed they were.  I chose to use boneless, skinless chicken thighs (a favorite).  But look at all the ingredients that make up the sauce!  

My Redaction

3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs

2 cloves garlic

7 ounces onion

1 1/4 pounds tomatoes

16 large, pitted black olives

4 ounces mushrooms

1/2 cup raisins

1/4 cup fresh parsley leaves

1 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon flour

2 cups boiling water

1/8 cup fresh oregano leaves

olive oil for cooking

Everything but the chicken.  Its picture is further down. Not the olive oil, either.

First, heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven.  I put enough in to lightly cover the bottom of pan once it was hot.

Add the chicken thighs and brown them over medium heat.  You can do this in batches if you want them to be more brown.  I did one batch.  Note:  I interpreted "half fried" as "brown them."  After they cooked on one side, I turned them to brown the other side.

While the meat is browning, chop the tomatoes, garlic, parsley, oregano, and mushrooms.  Also, slice the onions and olives.  I had a big bowl nearby and I placed each ingredient in the bowl once it was chopped or sliced.  Add the raisins, too.

Once the meat is browned, add all the ingredients from the bowl into the Dutch oven.  Stir them well.

Add the boiling water, salt, and pepper.  The sprinkle the flour over the top.  The goal is to avoid lumps and clumps of flour.  Stir well.

Bring the whole mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to low.  

Simmer over that low heat for 3 hours, stirring occasionally.

Serve by placing one thigh with a scoop (or two) of sauce over the top.

This is a bit crowded for standard browning, but I didn't worry about it.

Everything in the bowl, as viewed from the top.

The bowl, as viewed from the bottom, after added to the chicken.

Stirred well.  Note the herbs are not finely chopped.

Now it is everything.  See how the flour was sifted with no clumps?

Stirred and starting to bubble.

Ahh, done.

My Notes

Miss Pinedo suggested using flour or toast.  By that she probably meant toasted or dried bread crumbs, which is a time-honored method of thickening a liquid.  I chose flour because it was convenient, although I do have copious amounts of dried crumbs that I store in my freezer.  Either works.  I have learned that with stews, bread crumbs seem to make a more "gooey" sauce, meaning thicker with more body.

For my low heat, I used 1 or 2 out of 10 on my stove's settings.  I was looking for just a little bubbling in the middle; that's all.  Slow cooking will get the meat very tender.

I judged the amount of water to use by how high the level in the Dutch oven was -- it was almost as high as all the ingredients together.  And that was 2 cups.  

The house smelled so good while the stew was cooking, and continued to smell good afterwards.  Yum!

The Verdict

I kept the meal simple:  stewed chicken, toasted onion rolls, and wine.  Don't forget the wine!

The chicken was tender.  I never used the knife because the meat broke up easily with a fork.  The meat was not dry, either.  

The sauce:  Oh, the sauce!  Full of flavors, textures, and surprises.  My guest taster, who didn't know all that I put in it kept saying, "Are these raisins?" and "There are mushrooms!" and similar comments.  He loved all the ingredients he discerned while eating.  

Overall, we both loved the sauce.  It was complex in its flavor profile, but no one flavor stood out.  I consider that a win.  I got the balance right, even for the amount of salt and pepper.  The tomatoes cleared formed the basis of the sauce but it was not a "tomato-y" sauce.  It was fun to taste different ingredients along with a bite of chicken.

The toasted roll came in handy for sopping up the sauce once the meat was gone.  

My guest taster had seconds.  That is also a win!

Success!

The leftovers were just as good reheated.  

Did the flour really thicken the sauce?  I will say, "Probably not" but the long cooking with the lid off reduced the sauce and it did thicken up a little.  How much was from the flour, I cannot tell.  Would bread crumbs have been better?  I've used them in stews before and I think it would be thicker.  But with only one tablespoon, maybe not.

It just occurred to me that Miss Pinedo's tablespoons were probably two of ours - so it could have been thicker had I thought of that earlier.  I realized that after reviewing her table of weights and measures on page 274:  she said, "A tablespoon measures an exact ounce."  Our standardized tablespoons measure one-half ounce.  I need to keep that in mind for future experiments.

Guisado de carne de puerco, Pork meat stew -- a Pinedo recipe

I was perusing the Pinedo cookbook looking for inspiration - what recipe did I want to do today?  I had a fresh pork loin in the fridge, so I focused on a recipe that used it.  Now I think I have stated previously:  I love meat-and-fruit combinations, so this recipe caught my full attention.  Pork and pineapple!  And a lovely group of spices.

On page 114 is Guisado de carne de puerco, or Pork meat stew.  It looked simple to prepare (boy, did I need that!) and needs a lot of time to slow-cook everything.

My Translation

My Redaction

1 medium brown onion

1 1/2 teaspoons chopped garlic

3.4 pound boneless pork loin

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon whole coriander (you will want more)

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1 tablespoon dried parsley

1 tablespoon sugar

3 ounces white wine

1 ounce white wine vinegar

4 ounces chicken broth

1- 20 ounce can pineapple chunks in juice

2 tablespoons butter

And the butter.

Peel and chop the onion into medium dice.  Melt the butter in a Dutch oven.  Add the onion and garlic.  Saute slowly over medium low heat (3 of 10) until transluscent.  

Meanwhile, preheat a small, dry skillet over medium heat (5 of 10).  Place the coriander in it and start stirring, constantly, until the seeds are golden brown.  Place in a mortar or spice mill and crush.

Cut the meat into big, bite-sized chunks.  Place in a large bowl.  Sprinkle the oregano, parsley, coriander, cloves, and salt over the meat.  Toss them together to distribute the seasonings on the meat.

Put the meat into the Dutch oven.  Sprinkle on the sugar.  Pour the broth, wine, and vinegar over the top.

Drain the pineapple.  If the chunks are large, coarsely chop them.  Add to the Dutch oven.

Stir everything well.  Bring the liquid to just barely boiling, then reduce the heat to low (1 of 10).  

Cover the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, for 1 1/2 hours or until the meat is very tender.  The stew should be barely simmering.

Untoasted coriander on the left.  Toasted in the mortar, just before crushing.  

Ready to slow cook.

After 1 1/2 hours.

My Notes

I laughed at how the recipe does not include measurements for everything except the sugar.  I guess that no matter how much pork and et cetera you have, you should only use one tablespoon sugar.

I could have used fresh oregano and parsley, but I chose to use dried, just for convenience.  

The Verdict

I served it with white rice on the side.

First I tasted the liquid with it.  It was slightly sweet, but more savory, and the flavors of the spices and herbs came through.  I was glad the vinegar was not dominant, but it seemed to balance out the sweet of the pineapple and the umami of the cooked pork and chicken broth.

Then I tasted the meat.  It was so very tender!  But not overcooked, so still a touch firm, which I liked.  

The onions and garlic were subtle background flavors.  I could barely tell they were there.  The pineapple was cooked to tender, too.  

My guest taster and I both thought the salt level was just right.

We both agreed, however, that the herbal flavors were dominant, and we thought that did not seemed balanced.  So we added some (non-toasted) ground coriander to our bowls of stew and stirred it in.  That was much better!  It seemed to reduce the impact of the herbs in a very positive way.  Definitely more balanced.

So I added a teaspoon of ground coriander to the rest of the stew.  I have not tried it yet, but I think it will be fine.

I recommend using 2 teaspoons or more of the whole coriander to see if that suits your tastebuds.

Success!

We enjoyed it, especially with the rice to mix with the stew's liquid.  It is not a blockbuster meal as the flavors are not bold, but it is a nice, shall I say "calm" meal.  Not everything has to knock your tastebuds over.  

There was enough stew left over that we look forward to having it for another dinner.

Fashionable Ox - a Beef Stew (Pinedo recipe)

I am continuing to try out some of Encarnación Pinedo's stews.  Today's is a beef stew, one that I would consider a "standard" European (really French, I think) style with an interesting historical direction. It is on page 39, and I love the name.

My Translation

My Redaction

2 1/2 pounds of beef

1/4 cup broth, any flavor

1/4 cup white wine

2 cans diced tomatoes (14.5 ounce cans)

1/2 pound ham, cubed (about 1/2-inch size)

8 ounces carrots

1/2 cup chives, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces

1 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon cardamom

1/4 teaspoon mace

1/4 teaspoon coriander

First cut the beef into cubes, about 1-inch on a side, roughly.  Place in a slow cooker, add the broth and the wine.

Cover and cook on low heat for 2 hours.

Cut the carrots into bite-sized pieces as needed. 

In a skillet, combine the tomatoes, ham, carrots, chives, and spices.  Bring to a slow simmer.  Cook about 30 minute or until carrots are tender, stirring occasionally.

Mix in the drained beef and serve.

Sauce before cooking

Sauce after cooking

Beef after cooking.  Just use the meat and discard the liquid.

My Notes

I had some pork broth in my refrigerator, so I used that with the meat.  

Pinedo specifies "especies finas", "fine spices", and this is the only recipe that calls for that mix.  I interpreted it as a medieval spice blend called "powder fines", which can contain any number of spices, such as pepper, cinnamon, cardamon, coriander, grains of paradise, ginger, nutmeg, and so on.  The basic idea is a savory (vs sweet) mixture even though it uses many spices I consider "sweet", as in "I expect to see them in cookies, cakes, etc."

In making my choices, I knew one of my guest tasters does not like cinnamon, so I avoided that.  Putting in two savory spices (pepper and coriander) and two sweet spices (mace and cardamom) seemed like a good combination without risking making the spice blend too strong and overwhelming the dish.

Notice that she didn't call for salt.  I believe that the ham is a good way to introduce salt into the stew.

I used small carrots, so I didn't cut them.  I wanted the look of the bright orange carrots as part of the stew.  

This was so simple to prepare.  I appreciated that because it was a busy few days and I could easily prepare all in advance.  In fact, after the meat and sauce were done, I cooled and stored them separately in the refrigerator overnight.  The day of the meal I reheated the sauce, added the meat, and let the whole stew slowly warm through on the stove.

There was no need to defat anything before reheating.  Most of that fat had been left behind when I took the meat out of the slow cooker.

The Verdict

I served it with shell macaroni on the side and a tossed green salad.  And wine!

Visually, the stew was appealing with its colors and shapes.

The meat was tender and everyone noticed that.  

The sauce was flavorful and the carrots were tender, too, but not mushy.  I really liked that.

The entire mixture was good with the meats, tomatoes, chives, and carrots all contributing to the taste experience.  I suggested that the spice blend was too strong and was quickly outvoted by the guest tasters.  No one wanted salt on it.

The stew was well-received.  When I had the leftovers the next day, I decided that spice mixture wasn't too strong, but I thought it was close to being so.  If this worries you, I would cut down on the pepper a little.  

Success!

The stew matches the tablecloth...

Empiñada - a Tomato, Pineapple, and Chicken Stew (a Pinedo recipe)

I'm on a roll making stews from the Pinedo's cookbook, El cocinero español.  ("On a roll" - a cooking pun!)

Last month I wrote about a beef and onion stew.  This time I tried a recipe on page 93, Empiñada.  This is not empanadas (a hand pie or dumpling) but a chicken stew with the dominant flavors of tomatoes and pineapple.  Yes, pineapple!

My Translation

My Redaction

1 cup dried bread crumbs

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 can crushed pineapple with its juice (20 ounce can)

2 cans diced tomatoes with their juice (14.5 ounce cans)

2 teaspoons cinnamon (or 1 tsp and then add more at the end to taste)

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1 1/2 teaspoon chopped garlic

1 teaspoon salt

2 to 2 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thigh meat

Use just two cans of tomatoes and half that amount of chicken

Heat skillet over medium heat.

Add olive oil; swirl it to heat it.  

Add bread crumbs.  Stir constantly until the crumbs are golden brown.

Add pineapple, tomatoes, cinnamon, cloves, garlic, and salt.  Mix well.

Simmer over low heat while cutting the chicken into chunks.

Mix the sauce and the chicken pieces together in the slow cooker.  

Cook on low for 4 hours or until the meat is fall-apart tender.  Adjust salt to taste.

Beginning to toast crumbs

Toasted!

The sauce.  Just right.

My Notes

I did this recipe twice.  The first time I completely got the sauce-to-meat ratio wrong!  There was too much meat and the sauce was lost between the pieces.  My redaction above reflects the changes I made from the second time around. 

The point of toasting the bread crumbs - the technique is similar to toasting nuts but with oil to lubricate things - is to create an ingredient that will thicken the sauce.  

I didn't need to add any more water since I used the juices from the pineapple and tomatoes.

The first attempt did not include salt and boy, was it obvious.  I made sure there was salt in the second attempt.

You just have to love the slow cooker for making this recipe easy to cook and the chicken super tender.

For the second attempt, I created the sauce following the above directions then let it simmer for 30 minutes.  Then I added the first batch to it (the full amount was reduced from the three people who taste-tested it, but that wasn't much) and simmered it on low for 20 minutes warm it all the way through.

The Verdict

My guest taster who does not like cinnamon only tried the first version, which contained so little sauce that she couldn't taste it.  Honestly, we all tasted just tender chicken and not much else, so it was a bust.

Not enough sauce.

However the second time around had chunks of meat swimming in sauce.  Perfect!

See how thick it is?

The pineapple and tomatoes were the dominant flavors and they blended well together.  There was a bright acid note along with the sweetness from the fruit.  The spices were there but not competing for attention, although I noticed that I really enjoyed the slight dominance of the cinnamon. As one guest taster said, "They make something go on in the background so it is not just pineapple and tomato."  I agree!

The bread crumbs did their job and the sauce was thick.  I served the stew the first time with the pasta shells and the second time just by itself.  Both worked well.  

Success!  Simple and yet intriguing to have the pineapple and tomatoes working together.  I would probably add a little more cinnamon if I did this again.

Guisado de patatas -- Potato Stew, a Pinedo recipe

It's time for another Pinedo recipe!  Today's choice is on page 114, in the Guisados or Stews section.  

My Translation

Potato stew.

         Raw potatoes are peeled, diced, fried in fat, and set aside. Onion, tomato, chopped parsley are fried, and boiling water, salt, pepper, and oregano are added. In this sauce put the fried potatoes with two or three tablespoons of grated cheese, letting them boil over a moderate heat.

My Redaction

3 pounds potatoes

5 tablespoons butter

1 medium onion

a little olive oil

1 1/4 pounds tomatoes

4 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh oregano

3/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon pepper

2 cups boiling water

3 tablespoons grated cheese, more for garnish

And butter, olive oil, and boiling water

Heat a little butter in a frying pan while peeling and cubing the first potato.  Fry those pieces over medium heat, adding a little more butter as needed to keep them from sticking to the pan.  Stir occasionally, but let the pieces sit on the pan so they develop a golden crust.  The goal is to brown them.

Once they are browned, remove them to a bowl.  Repeat for each of the potatoes.

When the last batch of potato pieces are cooking, heat a little olive oil in a Dutch oven or large saucepan.  Peel and chop the onion, then cook it over medium low heat until translucent.

Core and dice the tomatoes and finely chop the fresh parsley.  Add to the onions and continue to cook them until most of the liquid has boiled off.

Add the oregano, salt, pepper, and boiling water.  Mix well and simmer until the tomatoes are falling apart.

Add the potatoes and stir well.  Add the grated cheese.  Let simmer over low heat until the raw tomato flavor is gone and the stew tastes balanced.  Adjust the salt and pepper amounts as needed.  

Serve with a little grated cheese on top as garnish.

My Notes

I chose to use butter for frying the potatoes and olive oil for the sauce.  You can choose whatever you'd like!  I kept the amount of fat in the pan to a minimum so that I could get a good golden crust on the pieces.

I did not peel the tomatoes, but you might want to if you don't like pieces of skin in your stew.

I used grated asiago cheese, but I think cheddar, parmesan, or romano would also work well.

The sauce was thin until the potatoes were added, then it thickened to a good consistency.

The first batch, nearly done

Onions, tomatoes, and parsley, oh my!

All together now.  Let the simmer begin.

The Verdict

I served it with a little asiago as a garnish.  My guest taster would have been unhappy with a meal that didn't have meat, so I included a grilled boneless chicken thigh as a side dish.

Yum!

I really enjoyed the potato flavor in the stew.  It was like eating French fries in a sauce, which I liked.  The sauce was very mild; it was a background flavor to the potatoes.  I could taste the complexity of the tomatoes, onions, herbs, and spices, as could my guest taster.  However, we both described it as mild, not earth-shattering.  But it was still tasty!

We both added a little more salt and agreed that it would be best to let each person salt it to their taste at the table than to add more salt to the stew.  I think a little more pepper would be a good idea -- perhaps bump it up to 1 teaspoon to give it a little blast.

I'm not sure I would add the grated cheese to the stew again.  It didn't seem to contribute much to the flavor.  But adding some on top was nice.

Success!

It was not a spectacular meal, but they don't all have to be.  It was tasty, filling, and interesting with potatoes as a main base.  I see this stew as either a main dish or a side to some roast meat.

Liebre enchilada -- Hare enchilada, a Pinedo recipe

The Pinedo recipe I chose for this post is on page 148, "Liebre enchilada", or "Hare enchilada."  When I think about Mexican food, the word "enchilada" conjures up visions of rolled tortillas filled with shredded meat or cheese or vegetables, drenched in a red or green chile sauce, and sprinkled liberally with shredded cheese after being baked in the oven. 

While she does have recipes that meet my vision, the only part of that description this recipe matches is the chile sauce.  It is really a stew, so the word "enchilada" means "to season with chiles."

My Translation

Hare enchilada.

                   Cut the hare into small pieces. Put to fry in fresh and hot butter with pieces of lardon.

         The hare will be fried over a live fire, and when it begins to brown, add enough chopped onion, garlic, and salt.

         Everything will fry well, stirring the casserole without stopping, immediately adding tomatoes, olives, chopped mushrooms, one or two tablespoons of dry flour and oregano powder.

         Cover the hare well with a chile sauce, letting it cook, covered, in the casserole over a moderate heat.

My Redaction

3 1/4 pound rabbit

2 - 3 tablespoons butter

1 - 2 tablespoons vegetable shortening (or equivalent in lardo or bacon)

1 large onion, chopped

2 heaping teaspoons crushed garlic

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon dried oregano leaves, ground in a mortar until powdered

6 ounces sliced crimini mushrooms

4 Roma tomatoes, chopped

20 black olives, halved longwise

2 tablespoons flour

28 ounce can red enchilada sauce

Have the oregano ground, the mushrooms cleaned and sliced, the tomatoes and onion chopped, and the olives sliced before starting the cooking process.

Rinse and pat dry the rabbit, then cut into serving-size pieces (they will still have bones).

Heat the butter and shortening (or lardo or bacon) in a large Dutch oven over medium heat until melted and hot.

Add the pieces of rabbit.  Turn them as they sizzle to brown them on all sides.  It took about 15 minutes.

Add onion, garlic, and salt, stirring them in well.  Stir often (but I did stop at times) until the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes.

Add the tomatoes, olives, mushrooms, flour, and oregano.  Stir well and let cook a minute or two.

Add the enchilada sauce.  Stir well.  

Reduce heat to medium low, making the sauce simmer.  Cover the Dutch oven.

Cook until the meat is tender and cooked through, about half an hour.

My Notes

I understand that Ms. Pinedo, by specifying hare, was probably envisioning meat with a more wild taste than the farmed rabbit I used here.  Even if she substituted in rabbit, it was probably also wild, which I would expect to have more flavor than a farmed rabbit.  But we have to work with what we can get, and I could get a rabbit.

It is important to have all the ingredients prepared before starting the cooking process because the timing is short between steps.  

I used canned enchilada sauce, which is made from red chiles, water, vinegar, and salt.  I have made red chile sauce from dried chiles, but on pages 248-9, Miss Pinedo gives us a recipe for a "Red chile picante sauce", which is made by soaking and pureeing dried chiles, then flavoring them with green onions, oregano, olives, salt, vinegar, and olive oil.  She then states that for enchilada sauce, we should not use the olive oil and vinegar.  I decided not to worry about the vinegar.

The steps:

In the midst of browning the meat.

With garlic, onions, and salt.

With everything but the sauce.

Everything!

The Verdict

I served a simple dinner of the stew and warmed corn tortillas on the side.  I made sure every bowlful had at least one meaty piece of rabbit in it.  I also put a bowl on the table to take the bones once the meat was cut or bitten off them.

We enjoyed it very much!  The flavor was spicy from the chile sauce (I used a medium heat sauce, which I think was very brave of me - ha!).  The oregano was a light side flavor, enough to make it interesting and not too strong.  The salt level was just right.

We loved the chunks of onion, olives, and tomato.  Sometimes a spoonful (or forkful) did not include meat, so having those chunks of flavor kept the sauce from just being a sauce.  

The only challenge was getting the meat off the bones.  We each had a fork, knife, and spoon; the strategy was to use the fork and knife to cut the meat off the bone, and then use the fork or spoon to eat the meat with sauce and maybe chunks.  We both worried about splashing sauce on our clothing.  At one point, I held the meat with my fingers and nibbled the meat off the bones.  In other words, our cloth napkins were well-used by the end of the meal!

Sometimes I put a spoonful of meat/sauce/chunks onto a corn tortilla.  I then folded the tortilla over the stew and ate it that way.  That was good, too.  I also enjoyed dunking pieces of tortilla into the sauce.

Success!  If I were to do this again, I would debone the meat.  The rabbit was super expensive, so I would probably use chunks of pork or deboned chicken thighs instead.  

The leftovers were, I think, even better the next day.  The flavors seemed more blended.  I was out of corn tortillas, so I served it with sourdough bread.  The sour of the bread was a good compliment to the spicy of the sauce.  

For all Pinedo recipes, see my blog "The Spanish Cook Without Equal" at pinedo1898.blogspot.com

Zīrbāj with Quince -- a Medieval Chicken Stew

I was out driving one day and passed a farm stand selling, among many other things, quinces and pumpkins.  The pumpkins were an edible variety, so I purchased one to make another batch of the Pumpkin Tian.  (Click here for the post.  This time I included zucchini, onions, and corn.  It, too, was good.)

I knew I wanted to do something with quinces, but I really didn't want to make candied quince, quince paste, or any other "usual" recipe involving quinces and great quantities of sugar.

This book, Medieval Cuisine of the Islamic World by Lilia Zaouali, offered up an intriguing choice:  a meat and fruit stew that included quinces, apples, and jujubes.  I happened to have all three available, and I chose chicken as my meat.

ISBN 978-0-520-26174-7

The recipe is on page 80; it is number 19 in the Sweet-and-Sour Dishes chapter.

Zīrbāj with Quince

Take some cooked meat, add some coarsely crushed chickpeas, and cook [some more]; then add the broth of the meat, vinegar, honey or sugar, some saffron, some quinces [cut] into pieces, and some new apples, also cut into pieces.  If you like, [put in] some peeled almonds and some jujubes, or else pistachios and mint.  Let thicken over fire and serve.

Another version:  follow the same procedure, with a little starch to thicken [the sauce]; the color remains yellow.

My Redaction

1 1/2 pounds chicken thighs, skinned

1/3 cup dried garbanzo beans

3 quinces

2 apples

12 dried jujubes

1/2 cup chopped almonds

3 tablespoons honey

4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon saffron

Since the recipe called for cooked meat to start, I put the chicken thighs in water (about 1/2 way up the sides) and simmered them for 20 minutes.  The pan was covered.

In the meantime, I needed to crush the garbanzo beans.  My first thought was to use a mortar and pestle, but that resulted in beans flying all over the kitchen.  (!)  So I turned to my coffee grinder that is not allowed to touch coffee beans, and it did a good job.

Before

After

The recipe didn't specify if the beans were to be dried or cooked, so after I ground them, I soaked them in 1/2 cup hot water while the chicken was cooking.  

When the chicken was done, I deboned it.

I changed the procedure a little at this point.  I was concerned about cooking the beans with just the meat -- it didn't seem like enough water for them.  So I mixed the beans and their water with the deboned meat and its water, simmering for another 10 minutes, covered.

While this was cooking, I cut the quinces and apples into bite-sized pieces.  They went into a bigger pan.  Then I added the chicken/bean mix along with the jujubes, almonds, saffron, honey, and vinegar.

After mixing them well, I thought the liquid level was too low, so I added a little bit more water.

I set the fire to very low and simmered the mixture for 45 minutes covered and another 45 minutes uncovered.

At this point it was thick, the fruit was soft, and I thought it was ready to go.

The Verdict

My guest taster and I had just the stew for dinner.

Garnished with chopped almonds

We liked the flavor:  meaty and fruity, savory and sweet.  The jujubes added an element of bitter (warn your table guests about the seeds!), the quinces were a little sour, the nuts added a needed crunch.  I liked the saffron, honey, vinegar mix but wished it had more of a sweet and sour bite to it.  I think perhaps another vinegar, like apple cider or red wine, would have been better for this.  

Usually you mix the honey and vinegar in a 1-to-1 combination to get a good sweet and sour effect, but I put in more balsamic than honey.  I think that was right.  Even more vinegar would have been fine.

My only complaint was that the chicken was overcooked.  My guest taster did not agree.  I wanted the meat to be firmer.  If I did this again, I would not pre-cook the chicken, knowing that it had plenty of time to get cooked during the last phase.  I would start with chunks of chicken meat, already deboned.

Also, I would consider cooking the entire mixture only 45 minutes total with the lid off.  

I used an entire tablespoon of saffron but the stew did not turn out yellow.  Should I have used more?  I really can't say.

The leftover stew reheated nicely for lunch the next day.

Success!