RECIPES FOR DELICIOUS BUT EASY CHICKEN DISHES

                               

                                        CHICKEN AND NUT SOUP

An interesting soup, if you are not allergic to nuts.

250 g (½ lb) boiled chicken breasts, cut into chunks

60 g (2 oz) blanched almonds

1 large carrot, scraped and boiled

1250 ml (5 cups) tasty chicken broth

1 tbsp fresh breadcrumbs

Rind of ½ a lemon

1 pinch grated nutmeg

Salt and freshly ground white pepper to taste

187.9 ml (2/3 cup) single cream

Blend the first 3 ingredients with a little chicken broth to a smooth paste.  Scrape into the saucepan with the remaining stock and add the bread crumbs, the lemon rind and nutmeg.
 

Bring the soup to a boil and taste and season with freshly ground white pepper, and extra nutmeg and salt if necessary.   Discard the lemon peel and just before serving, stir in the cream.

                          CHICKEN WITH PRUNES SAFFRON AND PAPRIKA

A delicious, poultry dish from northern Greece,

8 chicken thighs, skinned

A pinch of Kozani saffron

4 tbsp olive oil

3 onions, peeled and finely sliced

1½ tbsp. sweet paprika

20 pittedprunes

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Place the chicken in a large saucepan with 1litre (1¾ pint) and the saffron.  Bring to the boil, then lower the heat and poach for 15 minutes;  drain and reserve the cooking liquid.  

Add the paprika and cook for 2 minutes, add the chicken thighs, about 700 ml (1¼ pint) of the cooking liquid and the prunes.   Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and simmer for about 20 minutes.

If the sauce seems too watery, remove the chicken, prunes and the sliced onion with a slotted spoon and keep warm.    Reduce the sauce to a small amount of gravy and spoon over the chicken.   Serve over buttered rice and vegetables of your choice.

    

                                       SWEET AND SOUR CHICKEN

A low calory dish which I hope you will enjoy

Chicken stock

1 onion, halved and thinly sliced

3 garlic cloves, peeled and minced

2 tsp grated fresh ginger root

2 skinned chicken breasts cut into strips

2 capsicum peppers deseeded and cut into 1-inch pieces

1 carrot, peeled and cut into matchsticks

Sauce:

1 ½ tbsp. vinegar

1 tsp tomato paste

½ cup chicken stock

Sweetener of your choice

(Stir well to combine) 

Heat a little chicken stock, in a wok, add the onion and garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes approximately until the onions turn translucent.

Add the chicken and cook on all sides, pouring in more chicken stock if necessary.   Add the ginger, peppers and carrots and cook for 2 minutes more.   Finally, stir in the sauce ingredients and simmer gently for 2 minutes more.

                                             THAI CHICKEN FRIED RICE

4 eggs sprinkled with a pinch of salt and whipped until pale and fluffy

2 tbsp corn oil or mild-tasting olive oil

1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped

1 tbsp grated fresh ginger

500 g (1 lb) chicken legs, skinned, boned and finely sliced

2 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp sweet white wine or sherry

4 cups steamed rice* (please see recipe below)

120 g (7 oz) bean sprout from a jar, patted dry

2 spring onions, trimmed and finely sliced

2 tbsp oyster sauce

1 tbsp soy sauce

3 tbsp thickly chopped parsley

Place half the amount of oil in a wok, and place over high heat.  Add the whipped eggs, and cook for 2 minutes, until an omelette is formed.  Fold in half, continue sautéing until cooked and golden and transfer to a plate and chop finely.

Pour the remaining oil into the wok and sauté the onion and ginger for 1 minute, stirring constantly until slightly coloured.   Add the chicken and sugar and cook for 3-4 minutes more, then stir in the steamed rice, and the oyster and soy sauces, stirring for 3-4 minutes until well combined and piping hot.   Serve in a large bowl sprinkled with parsley.

                            STEAMED RICE WITH SAFFRON POTATOES

                                                    (Chelo Seebjamini)

Iran has many very interesting rice dishes, this is one of them.

450 g (14 oz) basmati rice

½ tsp of saffron threads

1 pinch of sugar

1 scant tsp warm water

75 g (2½ oz) melted butter plus

30 g (1 oz) butter cut into small pieces

2 small potatoes peeled and thinly sliced

Wash the rice thoroughly and place it in a bowl. add three tablespoonfuls of salt and enough water to cover the rice by 2.5 cm (1 inch) and soak for about two hours and strain.

Bring 1250 ml (5 cups) of water to a boil, in a heavy casserole, add the rice, stir once or twice and boil briskly for 5 minutes then drain in a sieve.

Meanwhile, mash the saffron threads and sugar with a pestle and mortar or the back of a spoon.  Stir in the scant teaspoon of warm water and pour into the casserole and stir the melted butter.  Add the sliced potatoes, turning them over until they are thoroughly coated.  Spread the potatoes over the entire bottom of the casserole and spoon the rice over them, heaping it us slightly in the centre.   Dot the rice with the remaining butter, cover tightly and cook over high heat for 5 minutes.  Cover with a sheet of tin foil to seal the casserole completely. Then cover with the lid and reduce the heat to the lowest possible point and steam the rice and potatoes until tender for about 35 minutes.

Spoon the rice on a heated dish.  Gently lift the potatoes and arrange them brown side up on the rice.  It is usually served with a stew, but it can also be served with butter, raw egg yolk, salt and pepper and a little dried sumac.

            

                  CHICKEN AND MUSHROOM IN A CREAMY MASTIC SAUCE

This is a recipe of a dish that a well-known Kifissia restaurant, named after one of Aesop’s fables, always offers.

1 onion, peeled and finely chopped

2 spring onions, trimmed and finely chopped

1 clove garlic, peeled and minced

500 g (1 lb) small, fresh Portobello mushrooms, thickly sliced

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

120 ml (7 liquid oz) brandy

3 chicken breasts, skinned, boned and cut into bite-sized pieces and sprinkled with

2 tbsp seasoned flour

120 ml (7 oz) Mastic liqueur

375 ml (1 ½ cups) or more tasty chicken stock

250 ml (1 cup) cream

1 heaped tbsp. fresh tarragon leaves, finely chopped

Sauté the onions in a little water and 1 tbs olive oil until soft.  Add the minced garlic and the sliced mushroom and cook over high heat, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are almost dry.   Pour in the brandy and cook for 3-4 minutes until the alcohol evaporates.  Then season with salt and pepper and remove with a slotted spoon and reserve.

Add the butter and remaining olive oil into the saucepan and sauté the chicken, in batches, until brown all over.   Pour in the mastic liqueur and cook briskly, stirring, until the alcohol evaporates.   Then add the chicken stock, stir vigorously until the sauce thickens slightly.    Return the mushrooms to the saucepan and pour over the cream.   Simmer gently for 3-4 minutes more and sprinkle with the fresh chopped tarragon.

Serve with aromatic rice and green asparagus stalks.

   

Summer Vegetables by Oksana Briukhovetska