Recipe: One Pot Spanish Chicken and Potatoes

I recently had a conversation with the hubby about whether or not he likes eggplant.  He said he couldn’t recall having any good or bad experiences with it.  I personally remembered only bad experiences with it, but hadn’t eaten it since I was a kid…and my palate has definitely matured since then.  So I looked up eggplant recipes and found this one.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup olive oil

1 large yellow onion, sliced

3 cloves garlic

5 ripe tomatoes, cut in half; or one 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes

1/2 of a large eggplant, skin removed and diced (2–3 cups)

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 lbs. chicken breast meat

1 large Russet potato, sliced

salt and pepper to taste

1 teaspoon all-purpose seasoning: or whatever you season chicken with

1/2 cup fresh parsley leaves

crusty bread or rice for serving

*I ended up adding a shit-tone of additional seasoning to punch this meal up.  I threw in paprika, basil, parsley, oregano, red pepper flakes…and it legit didn’t seem like enough.

Directions:

1. Heat the olive oil in a large, deep skillet over medium high heat. Add the onions and garlic. Scoop the juices, seeds, and flesh out of the tomatoes into the pan. Add the eggplant pieces and simmer the mixture for 5 minutes or until everything is soupy-like and softened and very good smelling. Place the scooped out tomato halves over the sauce, open side down. Simmer for a few minutes until the tomatoes have steamed and softened. Break them up in the pan and simmer for another 5-10 minutes.

2. Transfer to a blender or food processor, puree until mixture reaches your desired consistency, and stir in the salt. Set aside

3. In the same pan, add one more quick drizzle of olive oil and add the chicken and potato slices. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and seasoning. Sauté for a few minutes on each side until they are browned.

4. Finish: Add the sauce back to the pan, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes or until the chicken and potatoes are fully cooked. Top with fresh parsley and serve with crusty white bread or rice.

I never thought these words would come out of my mouth.  But this meal has too much carb action in it.  Potatoes and rice and bread…oh my! Also, because the eggplant is generally so tasteless and ends up being mashed up in the sauce, it basically adds a lot of bulk and zero taste.  

I don’t know if I’ll make this meal again.  If I do I’ll probably use a spicy pork sausage instead of chicken, cut out the potatoes and…well, and basically change the entire recipe.  The only reason I would keep the eggplant is because it’s hella healthy and good for you. But beyond that it kinda still sucks as much as it did when I was a kid. And because I’m not a hater, I wont’s hare where I got this recipe from.