Haitian Stewed Chicken (Poulet Creole)
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Credit: Todd Coleman
1 3–4-lb. chicken, cut into 8 pieces
1 tsp. kosher salt, plus more to taste
3 cloves garlic
2 scallions, roughly chopped
2 sprigs parsley
1 sprig thyme, stemmed
1 Scotch bonnet chile, split
1 green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and thinly sliced
2 tbsp. canola oil
1 large yellow onion, halved and thinly sliced
1/2 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and thinly sliced
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 tbsp. tomato paste
1. Place chicken in a shallow baking dish. Purée salt, garlic, scallions, parsley, thyme, Scotch bonnet chile, half the green bell peppers, and 1/2 cup water in a food processor and pour over chicken. Chill for 4 hours.
2. Heat oil in a 6-qt. Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Scrape marinade from chicken; reserve marinade. Add chicken to pot and cook, turning once, until browned, about 10 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate and set aside. Add remaining green bell peppers, onions, and red bell peppers to pot, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring, until soft, 8–10 minutes. Add tomato paste and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Return chicken to pot, along with reserved marinade and 1 cup water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and cover pot slightly; cook, stirring occasionally, until chicken is tender, 25–30 minutes. Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper.
**Correction: August 22, 2011 The printed headnote for this recipe mentioned lime. However, the recipe does not contain lime. The headnote has been corrected to reflect this.
Please re-read the author's notes or consult the person from whom she received the recipe because this dish definitely needs LIME! I made the dish exactly to the recipe, the result was a fiery but very bland sauce that definitely need a citrus kick to wake up. I made there recipe from the magazine, I checked the online version for corrections. I added lime anyway, one at a time and dish brightened up tremendously, I added about a 1/4 cup of freshly squeezed lime juice to finish the dish. I remembered that the author wrote, in the original article, that the chicken dish was "spicy, citrusy stewed chicken". I am just a little more than intermediate home-cook, and I am telling you ADD LIME. I will certainly make this dish again, next time adding the lime (maybe more than 1/4cp) to the original marinade, I suspect the result will be very tasty.