Chicken, Artichoke, and Tomato Ragout

If the late winter weather has you down, this hearty ragout should cheer you right up.  Canned tomatoes and frozen artichoke hearts are a nice little way to cheat and sneak spring flavor onto your plate, even before spring officially arrives.

Ingredients:

• 3 Gardein Tuscan chicken breasts (without sauce)
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 cup coarsely chopped onion
• 2 minced garlic cloves
• 1 cup vegan chicken broth (such as Imagine)
• 1/4 cup vegan dry white wine 
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 (28-ounce) undrained can diced tomatoes
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 (9-ounce) package frozen artichoke hearts

1. Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat.  Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces and sprinkle evenly with the black pepper.  Add to the pan, along with the onion and garlic; saute for 6 minutes.

2. Stir in the broth, white wine, tomato paste, basil, canned tomatoes, and bay leaf.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes, until thick, stirring occasionally.

3. Stir in the artichoke hearts and cook for a final 5 minutes.

Note: No need to thaw the artichokes first; the frozen veggies will cook quite quickly in the warm stew.

4. Discard the bay leaf before ladling the ragout into bowls.

Nutrition Info:
4 servings (1 and 1/2 cups), Calories 252

Tasting Notes:
Easy and all-purpose, but a little bland. Certainly increase the dried basil, and consider adding other herbs or spices into the mix. A little lemon juice would brighten up the broth in a nice way, and the stew is missing a salty or briny element. But if you like artichokes and Gardein chicken, you'll still enjoy this dish.

Rating:
3