Autumn Chicken Stew (or Chicken Stew with Beans, Corn, and Plantains)

File this one under "WTF am I gonna do with you?!"

I bought plantains over the weekend fully intending to make tostones for the football game. Which, of course, never happened. And now one of my plantains had ripeend too much to be good for tostones anymore, but wasn't ripe enough to do a sweet plantain dessert (I have yet to blog about). So...wtf am I gonna do?

The weather got cold here fast the last 72 hours and I felt like something hot and soupy for dinner. I originally intended to make my really delicious Chicken Tortilla Stew but to my dismay, lacked half of the ingredients. And I'm too lazy to go to the store for them. So, I let instinct take over and let the ingredients talk to me, telling me what they wanted me to do.

The result? OMG I love this soup!!! It's based on my Chicken Tortilla Stew recipe, but takes a couple of decided turns into South American heaven with the secret ingredient for absolute deliciousness: PLANTAINS! I remember now a delicious Colombian soup I had long ago that had plantains in it. This was brilliant! The plantains not only thickened the soup ever so slightly, giving a perfectly comforting texture, but balanced out the savory soup with their natural sweentess. A twist of fresh lime juice before serving a small dollop of sour cream bring this soup home. And the fall colors from the red tomatoes, orange carrots, yellow corn, and rusty kidney beans are just beautiful. This soup made me giddy in fall delight.

Enjoy it!

Autumn Chicken Stew (or Chicken Stew with Beans, Corn, and Plantains)
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 chicken boneless and skinless chicken breasts, cut into small cubes
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
2 carrots, peeled and chopped small
1 medium sized white onion, peeled and chopped small
2 large roma tomatoes, chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium-riped plantain (between green and yellow in color), peeled and cut into small chunks
1 can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 bay leaf
1 Tbsp ground cumin
1 tsp ancho chile powder
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
6 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup frozen corn kernals
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, loosely packed and roughly chopped or torn by hand

Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot. Add the chicken and season with salt and pepper. Brown on all sides, then remove chicken from pot with slotted spoon. Set aside. Add the onions and carrots to the oil and season with some salt and pepper. Saute on medium heat for about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened. Add the chicken back in, the garlic, tomatoes, plantains, and beans and stir to combine. Add the spices -- bay leaf, cumin, chile powder, oregano, and cinnamon and stir to combine. Add the broth and scrape up any brown bits off the bottom of the pan using the liquid to help you. Bring the soup to a boil then reduce heat, cover with lid, and cook for about 20 minutes or until the plantains are nice and tender. Add the corn and cilantro and cook (uncovered) another 5 minutes or so, to warm the corn through. No need to defrost the corn first; just add it in straight frozen. Taste and adjust seasonings with salt and pepper to taste if needed. Ladle into bowls and serve with a fresh squeeze of lime and sour cream.

*If you wanted a soupier consistency, amp the broth up to 8 cups.