Spicy Stew with Leftover Chicken

The sumac chicken was tasty, but I cooked it in the middle of the week, so we could not finish it. I like using leftover chicken for stews or salads, especially when the chicken is roasted. The dish cooks faster and the chicken adds another layer of flavour, that is hard to accomplish if you start with raw meat.
The two beautifully roasted chicken breasts, nobody cared to have, were perfect for my spicy stew. A friend of mine cooked the stew for me few years ago, and I' ve been cooking it quite often since then. It is a very healthy and delicious meal. You can use whatever vegetables you have available, and play with different spices as well. My friend was recommending using exactly seven vegetables.

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion
• 2 carrots
• 2 stalks celery
• 2 zucchini
• 2 bell peppers - red and green
• 2 cups of cabbage
• 2 cups of mixed beans, chickpeas
• 3-4 garlic cloves
• 2-3 Thai chili peppers
• 2-3 potatoes, not pictured
• 2 cups cubed chicken 

  Spices:

• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp curry powder
• 1/3 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp cumin
• salt to taste
• black or white pepper

Wash and chop your veggies. Try to make them equally sized. Start with sauteing the onions and the garlic. I usually add the salt and the rest of the spices to the onions, so I can extract most of the flavour. Then I add the carrots, the celery, the beans, the cabbage, the peppers, in order depending on the time required to cook. Add two cups of water and reduce the heat. When the carrots become soft, add the chicken, the zucchini, and the potatoes.

When the stew is ready, sprinkle with fresh parsley and serve the stew on top of couscous or quinoa.