Recipes by Anne Mann
C hicken meals are comforting in winter
W
hen the wind is blowing and the temperature drops, I love to fill the house with the warm, comforting aromas of a chicken dinner all ready at the same time. All three of these dishes are slow cooked, whether in the oven or crock pot, with the preparation done earlier in the day so you can relax and enjoy them later. Be sure to freeze any leftover sauce from any of these recipes to add to your next pot of chicken stock or minestrone soup to give it some added depth. Leeks and Chicken with Vermouth Leeks are the last vegetable we harvest from the garden, often after they are covered with snow in the new year. When that happens, I cannot get Nigella Lawson’s “leeks in vermouth sauce” recipe out of my head. She noted that you could bake salmon or chicken breasts on top of leeks in one of her cookbooks but I have never been able to find the recipe again. This is my attempt to make that aromatic, comforting meal as simply as possible. You can cook the leeks in white sauce on their own but I always feel the more vegetables you have in a meal the better so I add the potatoes and mushrooms to make it seem complete. Next time you see some lovely leeks at the store or your cold room see which way you like best. Ingredients: 4 - 6 chicken breasts with skin and bones (boneless if you prefer) 2 - 4 leeks, depending on the size, white and light green parts only chopped 1 or 2 potatoes (optional) 8 oz mushrooms, sliced (optional) 1/3 cup vermouth or dry white wine 2 cups GF stock or water 1 tsp salt *1 tbsp potato or corn starch *2 tbsp rice flour or other AP glutenfree flour mix 3 tbsp butter 1 cup milk 1 tsp Dijon mustard 2 tbsp whipping cream 34 The Rural Voice
1 - 2 tbsp fresh dill, chopped or if you prefer 1 tsp dry oregano freshly ground pepper to taste *You may substitute 3 tbsp wheat flour if you are not making it glutenfree Directions: If using mushrooms, cook in a tablespoon of butter before browning chicken and set aside. Sprinkle chicken breasts with pepper and place skin side down, in a large ovenproof skillet or Dutch oven** with a tsp of oil. Cook
without moving until the skin is browned then turn and lightly brown the other side. Remove from the pan and set aside until later. Clean and cut leeks into 1 to 2 inch pieces and place in the same skillet with a tsp of oil. I always cut leeks in half so I can wash between each layer to get all the dirt out. Cook gently, but do not brown, for several minutes, then cover with vermouthand stock and bring to a boil. Add potatoes, if using and simmer
Chicken makes such comforting meals for families to share around the kitchen table. Clockwise: Leek and chicken with vermouth uses leeks dug out of the garden; the creole stewed chicken habib recipe calls for chicken to be marinated and at bottom, slow cooker butter chicken with squash is tender and tasty.
