Provencal Chicken in Cream Sauce

This recipe is from the book The Provence Cure for the Brokenhearted by Bridget Asher. It is a 4th generation Provencal recipe from Sara Wilford. I tried it last week while reading the book and it was divine!

My own changes are written in parentheses. I made this for two people by using two large skinless and boneless chicken breasts as we were only have meat and vegetables.

Provencal Chicken in Cream Sauce
1-1/2 tablespoons butter
1-1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small chicken, cut into eight pieces (I used two large skinless, boneless chicken      breasts)
16 whole baby onions, peeled (I used two regular onions chopped in chunks)
1 cup heavy cream (I used about 3/4 cup and it worked very well)
1/4 cup dry white wine
Flour
Salt and pepper
1 teaspoon dried thyme
Chopped fresh parsley

Coat the chicken pieces in flour, salt and pepper.

Heat butter in heavy large skillet (I used Dutch oven) over medium-high heat and lightly brown onions. Set aside. Add olive oil to butter and raise heat.
Add chicken to skillet and cook over medium heat until brown on all sides.
Add cream, wine, thyme, and the onions. Cover and simmer until chicken is tender and cooked through, about 30 minutes, turning the pieces once. (Sauce should be slightly thickened by the flour used to coat the chicken.)

Transfer contents of skillet to cocotte or other deep seerving dish if desired, sprinkle with parsley and freshly ground pepper, and serve with rice. (I wilted some fresh chopped andive leaves in a pan and then placed it as a bed for the chicken. We did not even have any pototoes or rice with it as it was enough on its own.)

Bon appitit or eet smakelijk!
Heidi

Look what is for dinner.....

Mexican style pasta salad
340g / 12oz     can of corn, drained
420g/ 15oz    can of red kidney beans, drained
handfull of green olives
2 cups spiral pasta
300g / 11oz   jar of chunky salsa
French dressing
2 skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces
olive oil
chopped parsley

Cook the pasta as directed on the package and drain.

Drain the corn and kidney beans. Cut a hand full of green olives in half lengthwise. Mix the pasta, corn, beans, olives and salsa in a large mixing bowl.

Add enough French dressing to moisten the pasta salad as desired. I used 3 large serving spoons of dressing. This may be more or less depending on the thickness of your French dressing.

Fry the cut up chicken in a pan with olive oil until browned and cooked through. Add the chicken to the pasta salad and mix well. Chop a hand full of fresh parsley and mix again. Serve chilled.

Serve chilled.Wine to go with this dinner is:
Vega Del Cega Valdepenas
Tinto Tempranillo - Garnacha 2009
                                                        
Bon appetit or, as we say in Holland, Eet smakelijk!
Heidi

My succulent chicken

This chicken recipe comes out very moist and melt in your mouth soft every time.

Mozzarella stuffed chicken
4 chicken breasts, skinless and boneless
1 vegetable bouillon tablet
olive oil
mozzarella cheese
finely chopped rosemary
ground chili flakes

Drain mozzarella and cut into 8 chunks.Roll in finely chopped rosemary and ground chili flakes. Carefully cut two little slit into your chicken breasts being careful not to cut all the way through. Stuff a chunk of flavored mozzarella into each slit and weave a wooden skewer through the breast to hold the cheese in. In a flat baking dish (I use a quiche dish), rub the bouillon tablet into olive oil. You will need at least two tablespoons of oil to ensure you can coat the chicken breast. Roll the chicken in the bouillon oil to coat the chicken and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for a couple of hours. The nice thing about this recipe is that you can do this in the morning to enable to have minimum work at dinner time.

Remove chicken from oven and brown in a pan for about 2 minutes each side. Place chicken back in the shallow baking dish and bake in a 180C / 375F oven for about 25 minutes to cook through. The baking time may vary according to how large or small your chicken breasts are. Serve on a bed of leek and potato puree.

Leek and potato puree
1 small leek, cleaned and sliced in half rings
2 green onions, sliced
450 to 500 g / 1 lb potatoes
100dl  / 1/2cup lowfat yogurt


Measure the yogurt and allow to sit at room temperature while you peel and cook the potatoes. Slice the green end off the leek. Slice lengthwise from the root end so that the leek is open fan wise and rinse under cold water to ensure all the sand is removed. Slice into thin half rings and lightly fry in olive oil. Add 2 sliced green onions (you can substitute a finely chopped regular onion) with the leeks.

When the potatoes are soft, press them through a ricer. You can use a mixer if your prefer but I find a ricer makes wonderful puree which is something I learned from my father. Mix in the leeks, green onions and yogurt. Using yogurt gives the potatoes a very nice taste and make them lower in fat. I serve the potatoes as is allowing people to salt and pepper them according to their own taste but you can add the salt and pepper now if you like.

Bon appetit or, as we say in Holland, Eet smakelijk!
Heidi