Romanian Chicken Stew – sort of

I went to the grocery store with an idea to make this Romanian Chicken Stew recipe from “real stew” by Clifford A. Wright (truly has great recipes – all stews).  The recipe called for allspice berries (I do not even know what they are and did not look them up before I went to the store).  They didn’t have them so I decided to improvise with apricots and sour cherries in rum.  The flavor ended up being wonderful.  Dumb luck!!

Recipe
Romanian Chicken Stew – sort of:

1. Heat 3 tbsp olive oil and 2 tbsp of butter and brown on medium heat 2 lbs of boneless chicken thighs and 1 1/2 lbs of boneless chicken breasts cubed – about 10 minutes
2. Remove the chicken with a slotted spoon, reduce the heat to medium low, add 1/2 dozen thinly sliced yellow onions and cook for 20 minutes with the cover on
3. Remove the cover and add 1/2 cup of tomato paste, 3 tsp of hot Hungarian paprika, mix well and cook for 2 minutes
4. Return the chicken to the casserole and add 1 1/3 cups of white cooking wine, 1 1/2 tsp salt, 2 small bay leaves and simmer for 45 minutes
5. The next to the last step is to add 8 diced apricots and about 4 oz of the sour cherries with juice and simmer for another 15 minutes
6. The final step is to make a roux with 1 tbsp canola oil and 2 tbsp all-purpose flour and cook for 2 minutes then add to stew pot; cook for 5 more minutes making sure not to let the stew boil – serve over white rice.