SUMMERTIME STEWS

After a summer filled with frosty soups and chilled salads, many of us are ready for a change. We want to enjoy some hot food. Of course, there`s the grill, but barbecuing every day isn`t practical. Besides, we begin to miss the flavor exchange that happens as foods cook together. Yet, it still can be pretty warm outside. Rib-sticking dinners are out of the question, both for our appetites and for the heat they generate as they simmer away on the stove.

For an end-of-summer entree, I like to make a stew. Not a hearty one that takes hours and steams up the kitchen, but a speedy stew of chicken and vegetables. Chicken makes it satisfying but not heavy. Although the stew is lighter than its cold-weather counterparts, it has the sustaining character that makes these one-pot meals so appealing.

Chicken contributes a pleasing aroma and taste to the sauce. These qualities intensify the next day because the ingredients have been in contact for a longer period of time. So this easy dish is a convenient, make-ahead main course, too.

For my streamlined stew, I choose boneless chicken. This is a departure from the traditional technique of using chicken pieces on the bone. By doing this, I cut the cooking time at least in half. I simply make the sauce first, then gently simmer the chicken cubes in it.

Tomatoes tend to enter my pot in one form or another, preferably fresh, otherwise canned whole or diced, as sauce, as paste or a combination of these. With their robust taste, the tomatoes reinforce the flavor of the quick sauce. Tomatoes thicken the sauce and seem to keep the boneless chicken more moist.

At this season, home gardens are yielding their bounty. Markets and farm stands are overflowing with produce -- wonderful tomatoes for the sauce, and peppers, squash and eggplants of more sizes, shapes, colors and flavors than during the rest of the year. Now is a great chance to celebrate this abundance by enjoying these fresh delights in your entree. If you`re really pressed for time, supplement your selection with frozen veggies like peas, mixed vegetables, corn, spinach, pepper strips or the green soybeans called edamame.

To vary my main course the second time, I often add a new vegetable. A favorite in our family is sliced mushrooms, which become tender while the dish reheats. Another instant vegetable is roasted peppers from a jar. I cook most other fresh vegetables separately to avoid overcooking the chicken and vegetables already in the pot. If my garden is producing green beans, I boil or steam some for a few minutes or, if the weather gets really hot, I microwave them. Sometimes I broil eggplant slices or grill them on a stovetop grill pan, then dice them and add them to the pot.

When you prepare stew the usual way, the recipe generally directs you to brown the chicken in fat. Standing over that hot fat and carefully browning the pieces without letting them stick or burn definitely can raise your temperature. One of the culprits is the bird`s skin, which makes the fat sputter and tend to stick. Besides, the skin adds plenty of fat to the sauce.

Boneless, skinless chicken solves this problem. You just brown it for two minutes instead of taking 10 minutes or so for chicken pieces, so they don`t have a chance to stick or splatter. Often I skip the sauteing step completely, following a method I learned from a Moroccan friend. She makes her North African (ITAL) tajines (uñTAL), or stews, this way and assures me that this is a custom in her country`s cuisine. Instead of browning, she briefly cooks the chicken with chopped onions, cumin and hot pepper flakes before adding the other sauce components.

Later, two other friends, both excellent cooks -- one Thai and one from India -- told me they start their stews in a similar way, each according to her culinary heritage. Undoubtedly there are plenty of other examples. Our notion that you have to brown the meat comes from European cuisine.

I try to serve my chicken differently for each dinner. The first time aromatic basmati rice might be its partner; it`s so good with the delicious sauce. Two days later I may turn the entire dish into a pasta sauce by tossing it with cooked penne or quill-shaped macaroni. For a paella-like presentation, I mix the chicken and vegetables with orzo, the small rice-shape pasta, and with part of the sauce; I spoon the rest into a bowl and serve it on the side.

Sometimes I like my chicken-veggie combo as supper in a sandwich, either warm or cold -- wrapped in a tortilla, rolled in a square of lavash (Armenian flat bread) or tucked into the pocket of a pita. In that case I throw in some sliced avocado, small cilantro sprigs and perhaps a little diced ripe tomato, cucumber and green onion for a lively note. A splash of fresh salsa or hot sauce is all I need to complete the yummy, couldn`t-be-easier menu.

SUMMER CHICKEN STEW WITH SAFFRON-TOMATO SAUCE

For this casual, homey stew, most people don`t bother to peel the fresh tomatoes. If you`d rather remove the skins, see the note at the end of the recipe. To substitute canned tomatoes, use 1 (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes; drain and chop. Since I like thyme with tomatoes and I have plenty in my garden, I often put a few sprigs in the pan with the spices, then pull them out when the dish is done.

Whether to use chicken breasts or thighs is up to you. The dark meat of boneless thighs contributes more taste to the sauce and does not easily get dry. Without the skin, the fat content is not high. If you want to keep the fat as low as possible, use breasts; check them so they are just done, not overcooked. You can also reduce the olive oil amount to 1 tablespoon to further cut the fat.

Treat the chicken gently. Keep the sauce at a slow simmer. Boneless meat is already tender but if you boil it, it will become tough.

I love this entree with rice. Couscous is also a perfect partner in keeping with the stew`s Moroccan inspiration. This tiny North African pasta is ready in five minutes, and unlike other pastas doesn`t need a big pot of boiling water.

You can make the stew two days ahead and keep it in a covered food container in the refrigerator, or you can freeze it. Reheat it in a covered pan over medium-low heat. Or reheat it in the microwave, especially if you need only one or two portions. Although I`m not fond of microwaving raw chicken, heating a chicken stew at medium power gives acceptable results.

1 medium onion, halved and thinly sliced

3 large garlic cloves, chopped

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin or 1 teaspoon if omitting saffron

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 1/4 pounds boneless, skinless chicken, breasts or thighs, cut into 1x1/2x1/2-inch cubes

Salt, freshly ground pepper

1/2 cup chicken stock or water

Scant 1/4 teaspoon crumbled saffron threads, optional

1 1/2 pounds ripe tomatoes, chopped

1 red or yellow bell pepper, diced

1/2 to 3/4 pound zucchini, yellow squash or other summer squash, diced

3 tablespoons chopped cilantro or Italian parsley, optional

Mix onion, garlic, cumin, pepper flakes and oil in stew pan or saute pan. Add chicken and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Cook over low heat about 3 minutes, stirring once or twice, to flavor chicken with spices. Add stock and saffron and bring to simmer. Stir in tomatoes and bell pepper and return to simmer. Cover and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, 10 minutes. Add zucchini and cook until chicken is no longer pink inside, 5 minutes. Cut thick piece to check.

For thicker sauce, remove chicken and zucchini with slotted spoon and boil, uncovered, few minutes to thicken. Return chicken and zucchini to pan. Stir 2 tablespoons cilantro into sauce. Taste and adjust seasonings. Serve sprinkled with remaining 1 tablespoon cilantro. Makes 4 servings.

Note: To peel tomatoes, slit skin on smooth bottom of each tomato in X-shaped cut. Fill large bowl with cold water. Place tomatoes in saucepan with enough boiling water to cover generously. Boil 10 to 15 seconds or until skin begins to pull away from flesh. Remove tomatoes with slotted spoon and drop into cold water. After few seconds, remove tomatoes and pull off skins.

(Faye Levy is the author of ``30 Low-Fat Meals in 30 Minutes,`` Warner Books, 1995.)

(c) 2000, Faye Levy. Distributed by the Los Angeles Times Syndicate.

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Author: Faye Levy