Tag: Chicken

Thai Red Curry with Chicken, Leeks and Peppers

Thai Chicken Red Curry

Print Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Course Main Course
Servings 8 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 4 chicken thighs (boneless, skinless, cut into bite-sized pieces)
  • 1 Tbsp vegetable oil (canola, safflower, peanut, avocado, etc.)
  • 2.5 Tbsps red curry paste
  • 1 inch piece of ginger (or galangal, peeled and grated)
  • 1 clove garlic (peeled, grated)
  • 2 cups chicken broth
  • 800 ml coconut milk
  • 6 makrut lime leaves
  • 4 small potatoes (washed and sliced into medallions)
  • 1 Tbsp fish sauce
  • 1 bell pepper (cored and cut into large chunks)
  • 2 leeks (white only, sliced into 1" thick pieces)
  • 1 Tbsp lime juice (fresh, from about 1/2 lime)
  • 1/2 Tbsp sugar
  • salt (to taste)
  • 4 cups steamed white rice (to serve)
  • chopped fresh cilantro or Thai basil (to serve)

Instructions
 

  • Heat the oil in a wok or large pot at medium-high heat and add the garlic, ginger and curry paste, and stir until fragrant.
  • Add the coconut milk, broth, and makrut lime leaves. Stir until the curry paste is mixed into the liquid and it comes to a simmer.
  • Reduce the heat to medium and add the chicken pieces, potatoes and leeks, cover and cook for 5 minutes.
  • Add the fish sauce, sugar, and peppers, stirring in well, cover and  cook for 5-10 minutes, or until chicken is fully cooked.
  • Take off the heat, squeeze in the lime juice and serve with rice.
Keyword Chicken, Curry, Thai, Vegetables

And now for the details…

Hello dear friends. I know it has been quite a long time since I last posted a recipe, and I apologize for that. Computer screens have been a bit of a nemesis of late, and I have been restricting my time in front of them in order to cut down on my headaches and dizziness spells. Here is to hoping that my brain will be able to better manage these going forward! Especially since it is really hard to create media online when one needs to limit the time in front of a computer screen 😛

Let’s talk about Thai curries. Like most Thai foods, it’s focused on a balance of flavours: spicy, salty, sweet, sour, and bitter. If you hear the word “curry” and immediately think of Indian curries, Thai curries will be quite far from what you are picturing. The spices used tend to differ quite significantly, and the texture of the curry itself is quite different. I would use words like “rich”, “hearty”, or “spiced” to describe Indian curries, while I would use “vibrant”, nuanced” or “bright” to describe Thai curries.

The interesting thing that I found while researching for this post is that the Thai word “kari” for curries is specifically used when referring to Indian style curries, or Thai curries that have used Indian style spices. Gaeng or Kaeng are usually used to describe what we in the western world call “Thai Curry”. I am not sure when we as Westerners decided to use the same word to describe what I have experienced as very different types of dishes; I think I need to go for a more in-depth research on the etymology…

In this recipe, we are going to create a red curry with chicken, potatoes, leeks, and bell peppers. You probably noticed in the photo that the curry itself is not super “red”. The “red” in the name comes from the red curry paste we are using, which uses dried red chillies, along with a number of other ingredients, like ginger, garlic, galangal, shallots, coriander and cumin. The paste itself is a deep red, and it becomes the more orangey colour you see in the photo with the addition of the coconut milk. You can find a fairly wide variety of curries pastes in asian grocery stores, and I have found that a lot of western grocery stores now carry curry pastes as well.

Let’s get started.

I am going to start by stir frying my chicken. You have a Choose Your Own Adventure option here. You can also start with the chicken, or you can wait until the curry is formed up and made and add the chicken toward the end. The main difference is that you will get the caramelization of the meat in the “dry” stir fry (known as the Maillard reaction) if you cook the chicken first. Whereas if you wait until the end to add your chicken, there will be no Maillard reaction and the chicken will be cooked by simmering in the liquid of the curry. Cook’s choice if you want that browning/caramelization and are going to join me now, or add the chicken later 🙂

If you are going to stir fry the chicken, add the vegetable oil to your wok or large frying pan and heat up on medium-high heat. Then add your chicken, and stir, cooking just until the outsides are slightly browned, but the chicken does not need to be cooked all the way through. We will be adding it back to the curry later to finish off the cooking process. Transfer the chicken to a dish to the side until we are ready for it later. You may notice in the photos that my chicken is still a little bit frozen when I added it in. It is so much easier to cut chicken when it’s a little bit frozen. So if you are taking it out of the freezer to use for this recipe, cut it just before it’s fully thawed to make your life easier! If you have fresh chicken, you can put it in the freezer for around 5-10 minutes until it partially freezes to make the cutting process easier.

Next, we move on to the curry itself. If you have opted to not cook your chicken first, now is where you add the vegetable oil to the pan. For those who cooked the chicken first, there should be some residual oil in the pan, but add a little bit more if the pan is quite dry. If you want to be a bit more authentic, you can use some of the coconut cream skimmed off the top of your coconut milk instead of using the vegetable oil.

We are going to keep the heat at medium-high. Add the curry paste, garlic, and shredded ginger to the pan, smooshing (yes, we are getting very technical) the paste, garlic and ginger together and around the pan. As it heats, these ingredients will become very fragrant, at this point (about 60 seconds), add the coconut milk to the pan and stir well so the paste mixes fully into the milk and you pick up any caramelized bits from the bottom of the pan (you may need to scrape your spoon a bit along the bottom of the pan to do this). Next, add the broth and makrut lime leaves and stir until the broth is fully mixed.

I have talked about makrut lime leave before, but I am going to take a moment to talk about them again. Words are hard to use to describe the aroma that these little leaves provide to your dish. They are floral, citrusy and add a layer of complexity to the taste that cannot be replaced by a different ingredient. I have had a hard time finding makrut lime leaves lately, but often they can be found at an asian supermarket. If you cannot find them, you can omit them. The flavour will still be good, it will just have one of the layers of flavour out of the picture. If you cannot get lime leaves, use a bit more lime juice and a little bit of grated lime zest at the end of the cooking to help amplify the citrusy flavour you will be missing from the leaves. I have tried using dried makrut lime leaves as an alternative and I do have to say that they are basically as useless as dried basil. The aroma from the fresh leaves seems to be lost almost completely as they dry, so I would say it is probably best to just omit if you cannot find the fresh leaves. I have heard that you can find frozen lime leaves as well. I haven’t tested this, but I would imagine they are much more flavourful than a dried counterpart. I should also note that, unlike basil leaves, the makrut lime leaves are quite tough, and are typically removed before/while you eat, similar to bay leaves.

Moving on, we are going to allow the liquid to heat until it comes to a simmer, then lower the heat to medium. Add the potatoes and leeks, pushing the ingredients into the liquid so they are submerged. If you did not brown your chicken at the beginning, you will also add your chicken to the pan at this point. Cover the pan, and allow these ingredients to cook for 5 minutes. You can lift the lid every couple minutes to give the curry a stir to keep the ingredients from sticking to the bottom fo the pan.

Next, add the bell pepper, fish sauce and sugar. Stir well, cover the pan back up and cook for another 5 minutes.

For the folks who opted to not stir fry their chicken first: Check the ingredients for doneness. If the chicken is fully cooked and the vegetables are cooked to your liking, you can remove from the heat. Cook for another few minutes if the ingredients need a bit more time to be done.

For the folks who stir fried their chicken first, now is when we add the chicken back in, stirring into the liquid. Cook for another few minutes until the chicken and vegetables are fully cooked, then remove from the heat.

Squeeze the fresh lime juice into the curry and stir in, then serve the curry immediately with steamed rice, topping with some fresh cilantro or Thai basil.

Happy eating.

One Pan Wonder: Roast Chicken with Veggies, Potatoes and Gravy

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Roast Chicken with Veggies, Potatoes and Gravy

Don't be scared by the list of ingredients, this is an easy, no-fuss dinner that spends most of it's time in the oven so you are free to do other things around the house!
Print Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Course Main Course
Servings 4 people

Ingredients
  

  • 1-2 kg whole chicken (2-4.5 lbs)
  • 3-5 garlic cloves (peeled, cut in half)
  • 10 cm piece of fresh ginger (4", peeled, cut in large chunks)
  • 2 Tbsps dried makrut lime leaves (optional)
  • 1 small onion (peeled, cut in large slices)
  • 2 Tbsps butter (melted)
  • 1 Tbsp kosher salt
  • 1/2 cup dry white wine (plus more if needed)
  • 4 medium carrots (peeled, cut in large pieces)
  • 15 baby potatoes (halved, tossed in olive oil)
  • 1 fennel bulb (cored and cut in 8)
  • 1 + 1/2 cups asparagus pieces (tossed in olive oil)
  • 2 Tbsps flour
  • 1/4 cup chicken broth
  • salt and pepper (to taste)

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 425ºF/220ºC. Ensure bird's cavity is empty. Stuff cavity with garlic, ginger, and lime leaves. Place onion pieces on the bottom of the roasting pan.  Place chicken on top of onions. Brush chicken with melted butter. Sprinkle with kosher salt and pepper. Pour white wine into base of pan. Place in oven for 15 minutes.
  • Reduce oven temperature to 350ºF/175ºC and place carrots, fennel, and baby potatoes. Lightly sprinkle veggies with salt. Cook the vegetables and chicken until the chicken breast meat registers at 165ºF/75ºC, about 20 minutes/lb. If the liquid evaporates off, add a bit more white wine.
  • 10 minutes before the chicken is done, add the asparagus pieces.
  • Once done, removes chicken and veggies from the pan to a serving dish. Set the pan with the juices on the stovetop at medium-high heat (if minimal juices, top up slightly with more chicken broth). While waiting for the juices to start boiling, whisk together the flour and broth until smooth. Once the juices start to boil, slowly add the flour mixture, stirring continuously, until desired thickness for gravy is achieved. Remove from heat. Serve.
Keyword Chicken, Dinner, One Pan, Roasted, Vegetables

And now for the details…

Roasting a chicken was one of the first recipes I remember learning and being able to do on my own when I was younger. Roasted chicken is a surprisingly easy dinner to cook. And it displays nicely enough to look like it took a lot of effort to put together.

And you may ask, am I going to be a weirdo and name the bird like I did during Mo’s adventure? You know the answer. This little guy’s name is Fisher. He’s named after a recent song we did in RPM class, called “You Little Beauty”, and the artist’s name is Fisher. The moment I pulled the wee, three pound Fisher out of the fridge, I knew he was going to be a little beauty at the end, so the name only seemed right.

I am stuffing the chicken with some added flavour elements, but to be honest, you can do this recipe with nothing stuffed inside, and just some salt and pepper on the bird, and it turns out great! You may need to modify the cooking time a little bit, though, an unstuffed bird cooks in less time.

Let’s get to cooking, shall we?

Before we start prepping Fisher, preheat the oven to 425ºF/220ºC. We start at such a high heat to kinda sear Fisher’s outsides at the beginning to help lock in his juices.

Before stuffing, tie Fisher’s legs together so he can’t run away. Just kidding. Fisher is a dead chicken. He can’t run. But, we do want to tie his legs together to keep them in so they don’t splay out while he’s cooking and get all dried up. Unsure how to truss a chicken? This post provides a great step-by-step instruction to help you out!

Like I said earlier, you can get away with not stuffing Fisher, and just cooking him as is, with a little salt and pepper. But I like the added flavour Fisher will get from adding a few things into his cavity while he cooks. A lot of recipes will call for stuffing the bird with lemons or oranges… Citrus and chicken do go pretty well together. But to be honest, I’m not the hugest fan of the flavour of a roasted bird with lemon… Cooked lemon has a tendency to get bitter, and I don’t love the flavour it passes over to the poultry. I find it almost takes away some of the umami-ness of the meat. And so I’m going off-script with this one, and stuffing the bird with garlic, ginger, and lime leaves. No lime leaves? No worries. Omit them. I added them to play around and see what they added, and to be honest, the flavour addition was marginal…

Stuff Fisher with the chunks of ginger and garlic and leaves, alternating between them so they are spread out throughout the cavity. Before placing Fisher in the roasting pan, lay out the thick cut onion pieces on the bottom of the pan. We lay Fisher on top of the onions. These are going to lift Fisher up slightly so he doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan, or sit in his own juices while he cooks. Next, brush Fisher with the melted butter, making sure to get any exposed bits and pieces of him nicely covered. Sprinkle Fisher with kosher salt and pepper, then pour the white wine in the base of the pan.

Place Fisher in the oven and cook him for 15 minutes. While he is doing his first stint in the oven, get the veggies ready to go. Cut the stalks off the fennel, then quarter and core it, then slice the quarters in half. Peel the carrots, and cut into large pieces. Cut the baby potatoes in half, and toss them with a little bit of olive oil.

Remove Fisher from the oven, and turn the oven down to 350ºF/175ºC. We’ve got the original “sear” on Fisher and now we reduce the heat to roast him all the way through. The lower temp is also going to allow us to cook the veggies in the pan with Fisher, without burning or drying them out too much. Add the fennel and carrots first, stirring them a bit to coat them with whatever juices have collected in the bottom of the pan. Then we add the potatoes to the pan. I like separating the carrots/fennel from the potatoes to give the taters some space to crisp up a bit more. Sprinkle all the veggies with a little bit of salt.

If there was little to no juices in the bottom of the pan, add a little bit of white wine or chicken broth to the pan. Place the pan back in the oven. Now we simply wait. Fisher is going to cook for about 20 minutes/pound. The most important consideration is to make sure that the meat registers at 165ºF/75ºC when measured at the thickest part of the breast, not touching bone. If you do not have a meat thermometer, you can cut into a deep part of the thigh. If the juices run clear, then Fisher is done. If there is still some pink in the juices, Fisher needs a little more time in the oven.

Just before Fisher is done cooking, by about 10 minutes (when the meat is around 10ºF/5ºC under it’s final temperature), add the asparagus into the pan. Again, we are going to check the juices at the bottom. If they are low, top up with a bit of wine or broth.

Put the pan back in the oven and cook for the final 10 minutes, until the chicken reaches the correct temperature. Remove the pan from the oven when everything is done. Move the chicken and veggies from the pan onto a serving platter.

Place the pan, with the juices, onto the stovetop and set the burner to medium-high heat. You might need to tip the pan so the juices tilt to one end of the long pan. Let the juices heat up to start boiling. Yet again… if minimal juices, top up with a little bit of broth.

In a small bowl, place 1/4 cup of the broth, and whisk 2 tablespoons of bisquick (remember the leftover flour mixture we had from the Kraft box? Now’s the time to use some of it! Otherwise, plain flour works just fine) into the broth until smooth with no lumps are left. Once the meat juices start to boil, turn the temperate down to medium, and slowly add the flour liquid, a bit at a time, stirring continuously, until the gravy has thickened.

Remove the gravy to a gravy boat, and serve!

Happy eating.

And now… BONUS TIME!!!

My RPM members groan when I introduce a bonus, since it usually means a “surprise” extra 15-30 seconds of effort after everyone thought the heavy effort was over. Well… at least they used to groan when I was still teaching (waiting for COVID isolation to end so we can make it back to the gym!) Soon… *tapping fingers* soon…

In this case, the bonus is making chicken broth from the leftover carcass after you have devoured the meat of of Fisher’s body. I made the broth using my Instant Pot, but you can easily do this on a pot on the stove, you’ll just need to cook it for about double the time, topping up the liquid if it boils off.

After getting most of the meat off Fisher, remove the ginger, garlic, and lime leaves from inside his cavity. You can leave them there if you would like, but you will end up with a very gingery-flavoured broth. Place Fisher’s carcass into the pot, and fill it with water until the carcass is covered, or you’ve almost reached the “MAX” line on the Instant Pot. Add some onion, carrot, and celery to the pot.

Cover and seal the pot, cooking on the “soup/broth” setting for 1.5 hours. If you are cooking on the stove, heat the liquid up until it starts to simmer, then reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook for 3 hours. Once done, let the seal release if in the Instant Pot, then strain the solids out of the broth. I would suggest using a cheesecloth to getting the little uckies out of there and you’ll have a nice, clear broth. Place the broth into freezable containers and place in your freezer for future use! The broth should keep in your freezer for several months.

Oven Fried Chicken and Tomato Pasta (AKA reinventing the Kraft Pizza Box)

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Oven Fried Chicken and Tomato Pasta

Print Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Course Main Course

Ingredients
  

  • 1 Kraft Pizza Kit
  • 10 chicken drumsticks
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 garlic cloves (peeled and chopped)
  • 7 large mushrooms (chopped)
  • 1/4 cup butter (plus 2 Tbsps, melted)
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • 14 cherry tomatoes (cut in pieces)
  • 1/4 tsp dried oregano
  • 1 tsp basil
  • 2 Tbsps red wine
  • 150 g dried pasta (5.5oz)
  • salt and pepper (to taste)

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 425ºF/220ºC. Place 1/4 cup of butter in large glass baking dish and place in the oven until its melted. Remove from oven. Remove items from kit. Remove 1.5 cups from pizza dough mix, place the rest of the mix in a bowl. Add herb packet and cheese packet,  garlic powder and salt, mixing well. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs, with 1 tablespoon of water. Dip the drumsticks one at a time, from the egg wash, to powder mix, back to eggs, back to powder, then place in the melted butter in the baking dish. Drizzle remaining 2 tablespoons butter over chicken in dish. Bake in oven for 35 minutes, then remove and turn carefully. Put back in the oven for 15 more minutes, or until internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165ºF/75ºC. Sauté garlic in a pan in the olive oil until fragrant. Add the mushrooms and cook. Add tomatoes, sauce from the can in the kit, oregano, basil and wine, and cook down. Cook pasta in a pot of boiling water. Reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water and add to the sauce, allow it to cook down further. Drain pasta. Mix the pasta with the sauce. Serve.
Keyword Chicken, Dinner, Pasta, Sauce

And now for the details…

We are at day 7 of 14 in isolation, and I am at day 7 of my quarantine challenge to post a new recipe every day. In the last post, I had talked about the Kraft Pizza Kit I received as a gag gift from a friend of ours while we are in isolation. The kit is something we both remember eating when we were young, and I think he was basically implying that since I am in isolation, I must be desperate enough to use the kit. And so this… this post is for you Marcus. I have reimagined the Kraft pizza box into oven fried chicken and pasta.

Let’s get right into it.

Start by preheating the oven to 425ºF/200ºC.

Let’s take a look at the contents of our pizza box: the dough mix, the herb packet, the cheese packet, and the sauce can.

Start by removing 1.5 cups out of the dough mix from the package and set it aside. Aside for what? No idea. From what I can see from the ingredients, the dough mix is pretty much Bisquick. So I guess use it as a replacement for that? Or………? *blank stare* The rest of the package goes into a bowl, along with the herb packet, the cheese packet, garlic powder, and salt. Mix these together well with a fork or whisk until they are mixed fully.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs with one tablespoon of water to make an egg wash for the chicken.

Before moving on, melt 1/4 cup of the butter in a large glass baking dish in the oven. Once melted, take it out, and set it to the side to start placing the chicken in.

We will be double dipping the chicken to get a nice crust for the oven fry. Dip one of the drumsticks in the egg wash, coating completely. Then place it in in the powder mix, turning to coat. Place it back in the egg wash, coat, and then back again into the powder mix, coat. Place the drumstick in the baking dish. Repeat this procedure with all the chicken pieces until they have all been coated.

Once all the drumsticks have been coated and placed in the dish, melt another 2 tablespoons of butter in a small dish, and drizzle it over the drumsticks. Place the drumsticks in the oven for 35 minutes.

After 35 minutes, remove the chicken from the oven, and carefully turn the drumsticks over, trying to gingerly make the flip without tearing the skin or crust on the chicken. I didn’t have success with all the pieces, but 80% is still a passing grade, right?

Place back in the oven and cook for another 15 minutes, or until the inside of the chicken registers at 165ºF/75ºC, making sure to not touch the bone with the thermometer.

In the last 15 minutes, we will cook our pasta and sauce. Sauté the garlic in the olive oil in a large pan until the garlic is fragrant, then add the mushrooms. Usually this is where I would suggest adding salt to help the mushrooms release their liquid, but the sauce in the kit is plenty salty, so we will not be adding any additional salt. If the pan gets too dry before the mushrooms start releasing liquid, add a splash of broth or water to keep the mushrooms and garlic from burning. Once the mushrooms are cooked, add the tomatoes, and stir.

Finally, add the sauce from the can, the oregano and basil, and red wine, using your spoon to stir up any caramelization that formed in the bottom of the pan to absorb back into the sauce.

While the sauce is cooking, cook the pasta in salted water until al dente. Just before removing the pasta from the stove, add 1/2 cup of the pasta water to the sauce, mixing it in. Then, drain the pasta, and add it to the pan with the sauce, stirring well. Let the pasta and sauce cook for a short while more until thick.

When the chicken is done, remove it from the oven. Plate your chicken and pasta. I also cooked some broccoli in a separate dish while my chicken was cooking for some added greenery (just for you Mark, I knew you’d like that).

Serve and enjoy.

Happy eating.

Tom Yum Kai Soup (Thai Chicken Spicy and Sour Soup)

Tom Yum Kai Soup

An easy-to-make, spicy, lemongrass flavoured chicken soup, great for a chilly day or when recovering from a cold!
Print Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Course Soup
Servings 2 people

Ingredients
  

  • 1 chicken breast (boneless, skinless, cut into 5mm or 1/4" thick slices)
  • 4 cups chicken broth
  • 4 cups water
  • 2.5 cm piece of ginger or galangal (1" piece, peeled and sliced into thick pieces)
  • 2 stalks lemongrass (cut into 2cm or 3/4" pieces)
  • 2 makrut lime leaves (optional)
  • 1 garlic cloves (minced)
  • 1-2 Tbsps fish sauce
  • 2 Tbsps sambal olek
  • 1/2 Tbsp sugar (optional)
  • 8 button mushrooms (quartered)
  • 1 medium tomato (cut into wedges, or 10 cherry tomatoes, halved)
  • 1/2 lime (cut into wedges)

Instructions
 

  • Place the stock and water in a heavy bottomed pot. Heat until it starts to simmer. Add ginger/galangal, lemongrass, and lime leaves, cooking for about 5 minutes. Add fish sauce, sambal olek, and sugar. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Add chicken and mushrooms. Cook for 3 minutes. Add tomatoes. Cook until chicken is cooked through. Serve immediately with lime wedges.
Keyword Chicken, Ginger, Lemongrass, Spicy

And now for the details…

When I’m feeling under the weather, or feeling chilled and want something to stoke that internal fire to feel warmed up, this soup is immediately what I crave. It’s got the warm comfort of a chicken soup, with the spicy bite from the sambal olek and ginger, and a tart or sour note thanks to the lime juice, lemongrass and tomatoes.

I have a few ingredients in here that I have noted as optional, as they do add to the flavour of the soup, but are not critical. Especially the makrut lime leaves, which can often be a challenge to find in some western markets. While the additional of the lime leaves adds a certain floral note and emphasizes the citrus notes, it is not hypercritical if you have a hard time tracking them down.

Let’s get to cooking.

Before we go anywhere, get all the ingredients ready to go. Wash, slice, cut and mince everything and have it next to you at the stove, because the time between additions to the soup are relatively short, which is great because it means we get to eating that much faster!

A tip for the lemongrass: tap it up and down its length with the dull side of your knife. This will help to release some of the oils to make your soup that much more fragrant.

A tip for the chicken: if cutting it thinly is a challenge, try placing the piece of chicken breast in the freezer for 5-10 minutes. It will not freeze completely, but will chill up enough that it is easier to handle while you are cutting. Because we are cutting it so thin, this extra chill to the chicken will not result in any extended cook time.

We start everything off by adding the broth and water into a pot and setting them to medium-high heat on the stove. Heat until the liquid starts to simmer, then reduce to just above medium heat.

Next, add the lemongrass, ginger and lime leaves. Before adding the lime leaves, give them a light squish between your hands; this will help release the oils and allow them to impart more flavour.

Cover the pot and let this simmer for about 5 minutes. Add the fish sauce, sambal olek and sugar (if you are using the sugar). And allow everything to simmer for another 2-3 minutes.

Next, we add the chicken and mushrooms. Yes, I know that the dishwasher will likely sanitize the cutting board and I do not need to be so anal retentive about using multiple boards, but I am just too cautious when it comes to cross contamination.

Let the soup come back up to a simmer, and then cover and cook for about 3 minutes.

Our final addition are the tomatoes. Whether you use a large tomatoes and cut it into wedges, or simply slice up some baby tomatoes, it is really about preference and what you have on hand. Add the tomatoes and stir them in, then simmer everything for another 2-3 minutes, or until the chicken is fully cooked and the tomatoes have softened slightly.

Serve immediately with chopped cilantro and green onions and enjoy that heart-warming deliciousness!

Happy eating.

Chicken Vino Bianco (Olive Garden-ish)

Chicken Vino Bianco

A copycat recipe of the Olive Garden Chicken Vino Bianco
Print Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Course Main Course

Ingredients
  

  • 2 chicken breasts (butterflied and cut into medallions)
  • 2 roma tomatoes (seeded and diced)
  • 2 shallots (diced)
  • 3 cups mushrooms (oyster or cremini, diced)
  • 1/4 cup flour (all-purpose)
  • salt and pepper (to taste)
  • 3 Tbsps olive oil
  • 1/4 cups butter (plus 2 Tbsps)
  • 1/4 cup chicken broth
  • 1/2 cup white wine
  • 250 g pasta (cooked al dente)

Instructions
 

  • Season the chicken fillets with salt and pepper, and sprinkle with flour.
  • Add 2 Tbsps of the olive oil and 1 Tbsp of the butter to a pan on medium-high heat until the butter is melted.
  • Place the chicken breasts in the pan and cook until golden brown and turn. Add another 1 Tbsp of butter to the pan and cook the medallions until the inside temperature reaches 75ºC (165ºF).
  • Remove chicken from the pan, and set aside. Add the remaining 1 Tbsp olive oil to the pan, add the shallots and sauté, add the mushrooms and sauté until soft. Add the tomatoes, then add the chicken broth and white wine. Cook down until the liquid is reduced significantly. Add 1/4 cup of butter and melt, stirring into the sauce.
  • Add the chicken back into the pan, turning to coat. Place the pasta in a large shallow dish, then top with sauce and chicken. Serve.
Keyword Chicken, Mushrooms, Pasta, Tomatoes, Wine

And now for the details…

I had a period of time in my early twenties when I was borderline obsessed with the Olive Garden. Raised eyebrows and cringes, I’m sure, from the foodies out there. But I have to admit, I still enjoy visiting, particularly for the lunch of endless soup, salad and breadsticks. Their Zuppa Toscana? Delicious. Yep. I’m losing creditability from the foodie hipsters as I type. I recognize your need to shudder and turn away, but am not changing my mind on this one. Sorry folks, I love food. All food. In my mind, food sources do not need to be subversive, exclusive, or cutting edge to be delicious.

A favourite dish, which unfortunately I have not seen on their menu for well over a decade, was Chicken Vino Bianco. Through some trial and error, I think I have come pretty close to recreating it, and now am sharing with all of you! Pair this with a salad with Olive Garden salad dressing from Costco, and we are bringing the restaurant home!

We start by butterflying the chicken breasts and then cutting them into medallions. This pink cutting board? It is specific for my meat prep! To avoid cross-contamination, I have this separate board that I use strictly for raw meats, fish, and poultry. Safety first people! Now, salt and pepper each side of the medallions, and then dust them with flour. Shake off any excess flour and we are ready to start sautéing!

Heat up some olive oil at medium-high heat and melt the two tablespoons of butter into the oil. Once the butter is completely melted and starts bubbling slightly, add the chicken in a single layer, and cook until browned on both sides and completely cooked through the middle.

Set the chicken aside, but keep the pan hot. Add the shallots and a bit more olive oil if there is little of the oil left in the pan after cooking the chicken. Sauté the shallot until fragrant, then add the mushrooms. Cook until the mushrooms have just begun to turn soft. Next, we add the wine and cook down until the wine has almost completed reduced, there should be little liquid left in the pan.

(Now is also a good time to boil your water for your pasta.)

This is just after adding the wine, lots of liquid to lose yet!

We add our tomatoes next, and allow them to cook down for just a short bit of time, releasing some of their liquid, and softening slightly. Cooking for too long will lose our nice bright colour from the tomatoes, and cause them to smoosh in with the other ingredients, getting lost in the mix.

(Have you added pasta to your water yet? Get that going so you have pasta and sauce at the same time!)

Our last step is to melt in the 1/4 cup of butter, which is going to bring the liquid element back in, creating a nice sauce, and then bring the chicken back into the pan. Spoon sauce over the chicken, getting everything nice and saucy. Do a quick taste test here to see if you need any additional salt or fresh ground pepper. Add more S&P to taste.

Place your pasta in a large dish, then top with the chicken and sauce. If you would like, you can garnish with some fresh parsley and parmesan cheese.

Happy eating.