Healthy chicken in mushroom sauce

Other readers impressed (I hope) by the results obtained by following that recipe might like to vary it by adding a tablespoon (or more) of caraway seeds to make seed cake — which was my husband’s favourite.

Now for the recipe pictured (I hope) above. Too often chicken is brought to the table in a fattening creamy mushroom sauce to put inches on the waistline and deposit cholesterol in the arteries. This recipe is guaranteed to keep you slim, fit and heart-healthy.

You begin by poaching a whole chicken breast for 15 minutes in 2 cups of water or chicken stock (but not from a stock cube if you have to keep an eye on your intake of salt), with 3 sprigs of tarragon, 3 sprigs of parsley, salt (unless you’ve used a stock cube, in which case not) and pepper.

Leave the chicken to cool in the stock. Skin and bone the chicken, strain (but don’t discard) the stock because you’ll need it to make the mushroom sauce.

Now let’s make this healthy chicken in mushroom sauce dish with:

4 teaspoons butter,

2 tablespoons chopped sive (escallion)

4 teaspoons flour

1 cup hot tarragon-flavoured poaching stock (see above)

1 cup thinly sliced mushrooms (about 8-10 depending on size)

2 cups cooked sliced chicken (see above)

salt and freshly ground pepper

2 plum tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped

METHOD

Heat the butter in a small pan, add the sive (escallion) and cook for about 1 minute over a medium heat stirring frequently or until the sive is slightly wilted.

Take the pan off the heat and stir in the flour. Return the pan to the heat and cook this flour mixture for about 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly.

Add the stock and beat/stir rapidly until the mixture is smooth, cook for 3 minutes, stirring frequently — by which time the sauce should be slightly thickened.

Stir in the mushrooms and cook 3-4 minutes, or until they are cooked through.

Add the sliced chicken and continue to cook until the chicken is heated through.

Season with salt and pepper to taste and add the chopped tomatoes.

Serve with steamed rice and snap beans or broccoli or spinach or a green salad.

Serve 2

Bon appetit