You may associate cold days with rich, heavy food, but Kelly Gibney shows us a brilliant way with winter veges that brings the warmth without the weightiness.
The flavoursome richness of this dish plays beautifully with Nautilus Chardonnay. The cauliflower rice ensures it doesn’t feel too too heavy. A great meal to take you from winter through to spring. Serve with whatever vegetables takes your fancy.
Leek, mushroom & mustard chicken w/ herby cauliflower ‘rice’
Serves 4-6
1 leek – white part sliced thinly
1 large carrot – finely diced
1 stalk celery – finely diced
3 garlic cloves – finely diced
1 teaspoon dried tarragon
250g Swiss brown mushrooms (could also use portobello) – halved and sliced
1/2 cup chardonnay
2 cups good quality chicken stock
1 rounded teaspoon wholegrain mustard
800g free range boneless chicken thighs – each cut into 4 roughly even pieces
3/4 cup fresh cream
1 1/2 tablespoons cornflour.
Cauliflower rice
1 small head cauliflower
Handful fresh parsley – finely diced
Sea salt and cracked black pepper
Olive oil for sautéing
Chicken method
Heat a generous glug of olive oil in a large sauté pan over a medium heat. Add the leek, carrot, celery and garlic. Cook gently, without browning, for 5 minutes. Add the tarragon and mushrooms. Cook for a further 5 minutes. Add the wine and stock. Bring to a boil, before simmering for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat a glug of oil in a large sauté pan over a medium high heat. Cook the chicken for 3 minutes on each side. Do this in two batches if your pan is crowded.
Add chicken to the stock and vegetables. Simmer for 8 minutes. Make a paste with the cornflour and a couple of tablespoons of water. Add this to the pan and stir well. Add the cream and simmer for 4 minutes. Season to taste with sea salt and cracked black pepper
Cauliflower ‘rice’ method
Cut the cauliflower into florets. Use a food processor to blitz until it has a rice-like consistency. You’ll need to do this in 2-3 batches depending on the sized of the processor.
Heat a very generous glug of olive oil in a sauté pan over a high heat. Add the cauliflower. Let it sit in the pan untouched for 1 minute before you start to stir. Saute for 5-6 minutes until tender (but not mushy). Season generously and stir through parsley.
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