BERKELEY (KCBS) – This chicken in a pot is a real favorite around our house after the holidays after all that rich food we’ve been eating, and overeating.

KCBS Food and Wine Editor Narsai David:

I like to bone out the chicken myself, but if you don’t want to go to all that trouble, by all means buy a quart of prepared chicken broth and just the chicken pieces that you want.

Garlic, onion, carrots and either fennel or celery make the dinner complete, along with a few potatoes. Everything gets garnished with chopped parsley, red pepper flakes, and salt.

This is a very simple recipe. Everything goes into the pot sequentially. Just be aware that if you’re going to use chicken breasts, they cook a lot quicker than the thighs, so put them in the broth a little bit later.

Narsai’s Chicken In A Pot

1 3lb. to 3½lb. fryer, skinned and disjointed

2 tsp pickling spice

1 quart water

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 large onion, cut in ¾-inch pieces

3 carrots cut ½-inch thick diagonally (INCH????)

4 small new potatoes, or 12 tiny red “creamer” potatoes

½ bulb of fennel (or 2 stalks of celery) cut crosswise in ¼-inch thick slices

1/3 cup chopped parsley

½ tsp red pepper flakes

1 tsp salt

Place skin, bones and chicken trimmings in a 5 – 6 quart Dutch oven. Add pickling spice and water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a very slow simmer and cook for a minimum of two to three hours, or longer. Strain the stock through a strainer back into the pot. Add all the chicken parts expect the breasts. Add the garlic, onion, carrots and potatoes and cook over medium heat for 15 minutes. Then add the remaining ingredients and the reserved chicken breasts and cook for 10 – 15 minutes until everything is tender. Serve in shallow soup plates with the broth.

Narsai David is the KCBS Food and Wine Editor. He has been a successful restaurateur, chef, TV host, and columnist in the Bay Area spanning four decades. You can hear him Saturdays at 10:53 a.m., 12:53 p.m. and 4:53 p.m., and at 2:53 a.m. Sunday on KCBS All News 740AM and 106.9FM.

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