Autumn Chicken Stew

Total Time: 55 mins Preparation Time: 25 mins Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• 500 g pumpkin or 500 g butternut squash
• 4 tablespoons chilli-flavoured olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 inches fresh ginger, freshly grated or 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, chopped into bite-sized pieces
• 2 (400 g) cans chopped tomatoes
• 2 -4 teaspoons brown sugar
• 1 (400 g) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 3 tablespoons fresh coriander, chopped
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch, mixed well with (optional)
• 4 tablespoons water (optional)

Recipe

• 1 peel the pumpkin or squash.
• 2 remove the seeds and any fibrous bits and then cut into bite-sized pieces.
• 3 in a large bowl, heat the oil and fry the onion for 3-4 minutes.
• 4 stir in the cinnamon and, if using the ground ginger, stir that in too.
• 5 if you are using fresh, it will be added later.
• 6 cook for a couple more minutes and then add in the chicken.
• 7 fry until the chicken is browned slightly on all sides.
• 8 add the tomatoes and sugar.
• 9 season to taste with salt and pepper if you like, although i don't feel the dish needs any, and then add the chickpeas and pumpkin.
• 10 make sure the dish is evenly mixed and then cover and simmer for about 30 minutes or until the pumpkin is tender.
• 11 if you are using fresh ginger, add it in about half way through this process.
• 12 once the pumpkin is cooked, depending on how runny you like your stew, you may want to thicken it up with a bit of cornstarch and water.
• 13 just mix the two together and stir in the stew and leave for a couple minutes to thicken.
• 14 stir in the chopped coriander just before serving.