Orange Chicken with Golden Raisins

Now that my oven is not working I'm on the lookout for stove top recipes. I made this chicken stew yesterday and served it tonight for dinner. The original recipe comes from A Fistful of Lentils: Syrian-Jewish Recipes From Grandma Fritzie's Kitchen by Jennifer Felicia Abadi. I adapted it to suit my taste and added beans and some more veggies. The stew was tasty and easy to prepare. As Ms. Abadi indicated, the dish tastes even better the next day.

Sauce

1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped yellow onions

2 cups peeled and cubed white potatoes (any kind)

2 cups sliced carrots

1 cup winter squash, cubed

1/4 cup golden raisins

1 1/2 cups fresh orange juice, strained

4 1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp. curry powder

1/2 tbl. soy sauce

Chicken

3 pounds chicken pieces (white and dark meat)

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 tsp. ground allspice

1/2 tsp. paprika

4 1/2 tsp. olive oil

Prepare the sauce: Combine all the sauce ingredients in a medium size bowl and set aside.

Prepare the chicken: Place the chicken pieces on a plate. Combine the salt, pepper, allspice and paprika in a small bowl. Rub the spices into the chicken skin.

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. When the oil is very hot, add the chicken and brown, cooking for 2-3 minutes on each side. Pour the sauce over the chicken and simmer, covered, over medium-low heat until chicken is cooked through, 30-45 minutes. Right before the chicken is done, add 1 can of navy beans.

Serve the chicken pieces with rice or bulgur wheat, with the sauce spooned on top.

Serves 4-5

Notes: The original recipe called for 1/2 cup of figs, which I omitted. I browned the chicken in two batches. Since we prefer dark meat I used only chicken drumsticks. I added carrots and winter squash but any root vegetable would work well.