Catalan Chicken Stew – One Delicious Dinner

A few years ago, Rachel Ray did a show called “Week in a Day.” On that show, she would cook five different dinners in one long afternoon. I don’t remember all of the food Rachel cooked for the week on the show that I watched. But one of the recipes stuck with me, Catalan Chicken Stew.

I recently spent a few days in Barcelona, and the flavors in this stew bring back fun memories of that great city and the wonderful Catalan food we enjoyed during our visit.

This concept of preparing meals fascinated me and I thought I would give it a try. Long story short, massive dinner prepping is not for me. I was exhausted at the end of the day. Not wanting to go through the whole five-meal prepping thing again, I set out to make the Catalan Chicken Stew as a one-night meal.

---

This article may contain affiliate links. We may earn a commission if you use these links to buy products or services. Please see our disclosure policy for full details. Thanks.

---

With a few tweaks (like not having four pounds of chicken poached and waiting for use), I put together a recipe for a chicken stew, Catalan-style that works every time you want a hearty, warm dinner.

---

Mixing It Up

First, I use boneless, chicken thighs in my Catalan Style Chicken Stew. The flavor of chicken thighs is more to my liking for soups, stews, or braising. The dark meat of the thighs holds its moisture better with the longer cooking times. Sometimes when using chicken breast (white meat), you end up with dry, flavorless meat.

But here’s the thing… You can use whatever chicken you have on hand. The chicken meat doesn’t even need to be skinless or boneless. Heck, you could use a whole chicken (you will need to cut it up, though). This chicken stew will still be just as good.

Also, don’t worry too much about the veggies you add to the stew. I use what I have on hand. If I have a red onion, I use a red onion. If all I have are brown onions, that’s ok too. Rachel’s recipe called for a Fresno Chile. In some areas, these chilies can be hard to find. The point of the chile is to add some heat; jalapeno will work just as well.

You probably won’t need a substitute for the carrots or celery. These veggies are pretty much a staple in my house and likely in your home too. I do, however, add potatoes. Not many just two. But my hubby likes his carbs and without the potatoes, he would think this was a soup, not a chicken thigh stew.

---

You Need a Picada for Catalan Chicken Stew

A Picada, what’s that? The picada is what makes this dish genuinely Catalonian. This dense pounded paste of bread, nuts, garlic, oil, and herbs is how the great chefs of Catalonia have been thickening their stews and braises for centuries. Don’t worry, the recipe for my picada is here as well.

My picada, like the rest of my dish, allows you to make substitutions easily. Maybe you have regular almonds, not Marcona almonds, or perhaps you only have walnuts. No worries, any of these nuts will work great, so will pine nuts or hazelnuts. For the herbs, you could use cilantro if you don’t have parsley

What’s important is that you sautee the bread, garlic, and nuts in olive oil until golden. Also, I’m lazy and while the original Calatan chefs must have spent a bit of time and muscle power making their picada, I use my mini-food processor.

---

Catalan food is full of flavor and love. Serve this chicken stew, Catalan-style with a green salad and some fresh bread and your family will feel the love!