Submitted by: agcomm,  Thu Oct 23 08:49:50 1997


Prairie Fare: Rainbow Stew
 
     I'm not much of a country-western music fan, but I make an
exception for Merle Haggard. Judging from the title of this
column and what I've already said, Merle Haggard fans know where
this is going. My favorite Merle Haggard song is "Rainbow Stew."
     In the song, Haggard has some fun with lofty ideals, and
he's got a really clever way of saying, yeah right. Just listen
to a few of his lyrics. "When they find out how to burn water,
and the gasoline car is gone ... When an airplane flies without
any fuel, and the sunlight heats our homes ... We'll all be
drinkin' that free Bubble Up and eatin' that rainbow stew."
     Merle doesn't say much about what a dish of that stew might
look like. That's where I may be able to help out. I've put
together a recipe for Rainbow Stew.  
     It's got chunks of chicken and some spicy smoked sausage.
You can use kielbasa. I use chorizo (chor ee' zo), a Mexican
sausage, because it's available at my favorite meat market in
Grand Forks. (You aficionados of sausage from Grand Forks know
which one.) You could also use or make andouille (an' doo ee),
that's a Cajun sausage similar to chorizo, although I've never
come across any close to home. 
     Now for the rainbow part. I settled on red, yellow, and
green peppers, purple onions, carrots, celery, parsley or
cilantro, kidney beans, and jicama (hee' ka ma). Some people call
jicama the Mexican potato. This brown vegetable has a skin
something like a potato, but it's larger than a potato and shaped
more like some onions you see--round but flat. Jicama has a
crunchy texture, even after cooking, similar to water chestnuts.
In fact, if you can't find jicama, you could substitute water
chestnuts in this recipe. 
     And as for how to present this stew to family or guests,
I'll take Merle's advice. It's best served "... with a silver
spoon underneath a sky of blue."  
 
  Rainbow Stew
  Yield: 6 to 8 servings
 
  Ingredients:
  1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into 1-inch
  cubes 5 tablespoons sunflower or canola oil, divided 2 T, 3 T
  1 pound kielbasa, chorizo or andouille sausage, but into
  1/2-inch cubes 3 cups water or chicken broth
  3 tablespoons all purpose flour
  1/2 cup each, chopped red, yellow and green peppers
  1/2 cup chopped purple onion
  1 cup diced carrots
  1/2 cup chopped celery
  2 cloves garlic, minced
  1 cup cubed jicama
  2 tablespoons chopped parsley or cilantro
  1 16-ounce can dark red kidney beans
  1 bay leaf, crumbled
  1 teaspoon summer savory, crumbled
  5 teaspoons ground chili pepper, if available, or substitute
     chili powder salt, black pepper, and red pepper sauce to
     taste
  1/2 cup chopped green onions
  about 3 cups cooked rice
  Procedure:
  Brown sausage in 2 tablespoons oil over medium heat in Dutch
  oven. Remove and set aside. Add chicken to pan and cook until
  golden; remove and drain pan; return meat to pan and add
  liquid. Cook until tender. Meanwhile, put remaining oil and
  flour in a skillet over medium heat; cook briefly, stirring
  constantly; add next seven ingredients and cook 10 minutes.
  Combine vegetable mixture and next four ingredients with meat
  in Dutch oven; bring to a boil; simmer, uncovered, for about
  45 minutes, stirring constantly. Season to taste with salt,
  black pepper and red pepper sauce. Add green onions and let
  stand for about 10 minutes. Serve over cooked rice. 
 
  What's Your Take on This, Julie?
  As we begin to settle in for the winter, this savory stew
can warm the house and the stomach too--depending on the
spiciness of the sausage you choose. Rainbow stew is a treat for
the eyes and the palate, with its many colors and added crunch
from the jicama, with or without country music playing in the
background.
  The kidney beans provide added protein and fiber, and the
carrots provide vitamin A as beta carotene. Complete this menu
with a serving of fresh or canned fruit and a tossed salad, and
you'll be well on your way to the recommended five servings of
fruits and vegetables a day.
  A serving of this stew (about one-eighth of the recipe)
provides about one-fourth of the recommended daily sodium. If
you're watching your sodium intake, look for reduced-sodium
chicken broth or make your own without adding salt.
Reduced-sodium sausage products also are available. Leaving the
salt shaker in the cupboard is another option. 
  A serving also provides about 500 calories and 25 grams of
fat, which may send up a caution flag for some people. Adults, in
general, should try to limit their fat consumption to about 65
grams per day. Most of the fat in this recipe comes from the
sausage and the added vegetable oil. If you are concerned about
your fat intake, substitute a lower-fat sausage product or use
less sausage in the recipe. Remember to drain the excess fat from
the browned meat.
  The other option is to have a smaller portion. Yeah right.     
                               ###
NDSU Agriculture Communication
Sources: Dean Hulse (701) 231-6136
Julie Garden-Robinson (701) 231-7187