FLOWER POT KITCHEN: CREAMY WHITE WINE AND MUSHROOM CHICKEN

17 Sept 2012

CREAMY WHITE WINE AND MUSHROOM CHICKEN

WONDERFUL MOORISH CREAMY MUSHROOM AND WHITE WINE SAUCE OVER SUCCULENT JUICY CHICKEN WITH BUTTERY MASHED POTATO

INGREDIENTS

2 chicken breasts

200g le rustic Camembert
Salt pepper

FOR THE SAUCE

10 chestnut mushrooms sliced

1 tbsp butter

1 tbsp ooil

1 garlic clove grated
1 onion fine diced
1 tbsp chicken jelly stock
300ml water
100ml dry white wine
300ml dbl cream

FOR THE MASHED POTATO
6 king lrg Kng Edward potatoes
3 tbsp butter and seasoning to taste

Pan fry on a medium heat the diced onions in the butter and ooil until soft, add the garlic and mushrooms, pan fry for 10 minutes, take out two tbsp of the mixture and reserve for stuffing in the chicken, add the white wine and simmer for a minute, add the chicken stock, 300ml water and reduce by half then add the double cream and bring just to a simmer to tick over, taste and season. Take the chicken breast and slice a pocket in the thick end of the breast, season with salt and pepper in the pocket then stuff one tbsp of the reserved pan fried mushrooms into the pocket and place a chunk of the le rustic in the pocket too. Pan fry the chicken in a hot pan and then when 3/4 cooked place 50ml of water in the pan and place a lid on the pan to seal in the steam, turn the heat down and let the chicken finish of in the steam bath, this calms the cooking process down and allows the juices to relax back into the chicken under steam.

For the mashed potato, peel and boil the potatoes until tender, drain and sprinkle with a hint of salt, pass through a ricer back into a hot pan with some or lots of butter and mix well, season to taste with white pepper and salt and sometimes I love to add a dash of vinegar, which is what my fab nan always did.

Serve the chicken on top of the butter mashed potato with a generous serving of the mushroom cream sauce over the top of the chicken.

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LIFE MY PASSION

Welcome to my daily life of cooking, one winters day many years ago my family and I were all inspired by a back to back rainy day of River Cottage this got us to stop talking about and start actually doing, suddenly three weeks later eight vegetable beds were dug, greenhouse erected and our first vegetables were propagating, this was the start to raising and growing our own food, our fabulous son Oscar changed our path in life which lead us to sell our small thriving restaurant of 10 yrs and to start our new life (Terrifying!) a life of the self sufficient in touch with nature and seasons, taking a step back and looking forward to a slower change of pace and making the most of every moment.

My passion for cooking was stronger than ever and having time at home with Oscar I found I had a new direction and I was no longer striving for perfection, I was suddenly very passionate for the enjoyment of the other side of food, something I had not realised, being the Chef/Cook and every other duty of your own small restaurant made me see that I never actually took time to cook what I wanted!

So there I was muddy boots and hands digging deep in more than one sense and I found myself transported back in time to where everyone grew some of their own food, it is a wonderful world with a real sense of achievement and loss, Slugs Snails and Caterpillars! But thats another story! Childhood memories of summers when I lived with my grand parents reminded me of so much that I had learnt about the make do and mend generation that I had forgotten.

Now as a family we love our free wild food days where we gather what nature has provided, have gone from being mini mini garden urban small holders, who did raised pigs at home because we could not wait to find land and supporting ourselves from our garden to now owning a very small farm that allows us to grow more vegetables for the whole of our family and neighbours, raise our own gorgeous Gloucestershire Old Spot pigs, (Sausages!) and pets! Dorset Down sheep, chickens for eggs and pet goats! Suddenly having large quantities of produce started to wake up the Cook in me!

The Cook was awake that part of me that wants to cook for the masses and I found myself setting up Flowerpot Kitchen, a Farmers Market Stall, I wanted to use our honest raised meats and make old fashioned pork pies, rabbit pies and game pies from the local game keeper along with old fashioned techniques and the best hot water crust pastry. This in turn grew to a small cottage industry from home weekly supplying three farm shops and a deli along with also attending three farmers markets A few years later there came a time when my son Oscar's health changed and it was an easy decision to stop.

I still hold the occasional pop up 40 seater restaurant or gourmet lunch which we do for local charities for the love of sharing food and to remind that Cook in me why I love our go slower self sufficient life!

So here I am sitting amoung the vegetables watching the chickens loving that every season nature teaches me something new and that nature is in charge! She has taught me to just go with it and grow. Give it a try from a tray of salad on your windowsill to a few tomato plants it all counts.