Week #46: Virginia - Brunswick Stew Pizza

State: Virginia

Living in Maryland, I have visited many parts of Virginia.  All the way from Arlington to the southwestern part of Bristol.  Virginia is a beautiful state with mountains, valleys, farmlands, and apparently is for lovers.  I used to have a 1967 VW Bug and would go to the Bug In's with my dad in Manassass, VA.  Some other fun places to go in VA is Kings Dominion, Busch Gardens, and Williamsburg.  The Busch Gardens in my opinion is better than the one here in Tampa.  After doing research, I realized that the Brunswick Proclamation Stew is very popular in Virginia.  I have never made it or tasted it, so I figured that I would give it a try and I am glad I did.  This pizza was very tasty.  Hope you enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 lb chicken breast cutlets (2-3)

1 small onion - diced

2 ribs celery - diced

Water to cover

1 large can crushed tomatoes plus their juices

2-3 medium white potatoes - peeled (about 1 pound total)

1-2 cups of lima beans (Your Preference)

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

1 Pizza crust

1/2 cup of Mozzarella cheese

Stew:

First, combine chicken cutlets with onion in a medium stockpot.  Cover with water and bring to a boil over high heat. With a spoon, skim off and throw away any foam that forms on the surface. Add the celery and reduce the heat to medium to maintain a low boil. Cook uncovered for about 15 minutes or so.

Transfer the whole chicken, celery and onion to a bowl to cool.  Use a slotted spoon to remove any bits of fat and/or skin from the broth. Add tomatoes with juices, lima beans and diced potatoes. Cook uncovered over medium heat for 15 minutes or until the potatoes and lima beans are tender.

Season the stew with salt, black and cayenne pepper. Stir thoroughly, cover and cook for 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. Next, chop the chicken up into bite sized pieces and add back into pot.  Cook for another 10 minutes and remove from heat.

Pizza:

Preheat oven to 450.  Cook crust for 10 minutes or until slightly browned. Remove from heat and turn down heat to 400 degrees.  With a slotted spoon, scoop out pieces of the stew and arrange evenly along the pizza crust.   With a slotted spoon, scoop pieces of the soup and put across the crust.  Make sure that you have pieces spread out evenly so each slice will have equal amounts of the mixture.  Next, with a ladle add about 1/2 of the stew along the crust. Please Note: Don't put too much stew broth onto the crust or it will leak over into a hot oven surface.  Finally, add the cheese on top and place into oven for 3-5 minutes or until cheese is melted. Remove from heat and allow to cool before serving. 

Pairing:

For this pizza, you have to go with a stout or some type of porter.  This stew is made for the cold winter days and with a stout, it will keep you nice and warm.

Learning Moments:

At the step where the potatoes were tender, I should have taken out half of them and mashed them in the stew.  This would have thickened it a little better.  Either way, the stew and taste was really good.  When you added the mozzarella cheese, it made it taste amazing!  Enjoy!