Our dinner last night was one of those random, non-planned, bung-the-fridge-contents-in-and-hope-for-the-best kind of meals. And as it turned out, it was so good that I am sharing it with you.
Also, I don’t want to forget how I made it, because I think it would make a good staple in our household.
These quantities served four – two adults and two children.
To make creamy country chicken you’ll need:
2 chicken breasts, diced. You could use 3 breasts if you are bigger meat eaters than we are.
1 large onion, also diced.
2 sticks of celery, chopped.
A handful of chantenay carrots, whole. Or 1-2 regular carrots, sliced.
bacon or a 200g pack of cubetti di pancetta.
1 chicken stock cube, made up with a pint of water.
half a 300g tub of half fat creme fraiche.
To serve:
Basmati rice
Parsley, chopped
Green beans, or whatever veg you like.
1) Cook the rice. I use the steam method, which is a bit of an inexact science. That is, I put a mugful of rice into a sauce pan, and follow it with 1.5 mugfuls of cold water. I cook it with the lid on until it reaches boiling point, then take it off the heat and let the rice cook in it’s own steam for around 40 minutes. Don’t take the lid off for at least half an hour.
2) Gently fry the onion, celery and carrots in olive oil for about five minutes, or until the onion and celery begin to look translucent. Don’t allow them to catch or burn. Add the pancetta and cook so the fat runs out.
3) Pop the diced up chicken into the pan with the veg and pancetta and cook so the chicken begins to turn golden. Pour in the pint of chicken stock and, if you have one, pop a lid on. This will mean the carrots will steam and the chicken will stay juicy and tender. There is nothing tasty about leathery chicken.
4) When the chicken is cooked through and the carrots tender, spoon in the creme fraiche and stir into the sauce. You can test the chicken by snipping one of the pieces with some scissors. At this point I put the beans on to steam, and threw the chopped parsley into the chicken stew. It will thicken a little, but not too much.
5) Once the rice and beans are cooked, you’re good to go! Serve it up and enjoy! You are welcome!
Look delicious!
HonestMum recently posted..Hello Baby
That looks very tasty. I’ve been meaning to try some new chicken recipes.
Rebecca recently posted..5 Ways to Develop Imaginative Play
Yum. I find pancetta really handy to have in – I chuck it in all sorts of things. Nice idea here – will give it a go. :)
Anya from Older Single Mum and The Healer recently posted..Grief Can Make You Fat.