So Far, So Good!

For the moment Im sticking to my menu plan but it generally doesnt take much to put me off, especially if Im out of the house and then dont have the time or energy to cook what was planned but anyway today's lunch (and hubby's dinner) was Poulet Sauce Normande or Chicken with a Normandy Sauce and decided to do a potato mash or puree with it and just mix in the zest of one lemon and a few finely chopped chives not forgetting to also season as usual.

Chicken with Normandy Sauce

and potato mash with lemon zest and chives

For 4 people

Ingredients

40-50g butter

4 chicken breast fillet pieces (680g) I used 5 as they were quite small

60g of white cooking wine (dry white)

20g cognac

250g button mushrooms known as champignons de paris over here, sliced

250ml of creme fraiche or sour cream in oz

1 tablespoon of fresh chives

1 tablespoon of flat leaf parsely

250ml of chicken stock (or whatever stock you have)

a tablespoon of cornflour mixed with a little water to make a paste if you find the sauce isnt thick enough for your liking

Preparation

Put herbs in bowl and chop for a few seconds on speed 4 or turbo about twice (I forgot to do this so just finely chopped them by hand).  Mix into the cream in a seperate bowl and set aside (keep in fridge until needed).

Prepare the chicken breast fillets and place them on the varoma tray lined with a piece of moistened baking paper.  Season each breast with a little salt and pepper and cover with lid ready to cook.

Put the butter and the sliced mushrooms in the bowl (doesnt need to be exact, I actually added more mushrooms) and cook for 5 mins, 100°, speed soft or 1, and on reverse so you dont mush up the mushrooms.

Put the wine, cognac into the bowl with 250ml stock and put the lid and varoma in place and cook on varoma temp, for 12 mins, speed 1, reverse.  Check the chicken after this time also as mine were slightly frozen or very cold at least so may have extended cooking time..but I found the extra time was almost perfect maybe just a minute less.

Remove the varoma temporarily to add the cream and herbs and cook for a further 7 mins on varoma, speed 1, reverse always.  Dont forget to reput the varoma and chicken back on top before restarting the cooking time.

Chicken should be cooked but double check its cooked to your liking, I think it could have even gone one minute less but was fine.

If not reduced enough or not as thick as you like just add some cornflour mixed with a little water to thicken.  I added a tablespoon with a little water to make a paste then added and mixed it around with a spoon and didnt need to cook any further as it thickened straight away and was just how I like it.

While this is cooking I prepared the mash potato which I did on the stove and usually add cream and a little cubed butter, mash it all up and then added the zest of one lemon and a handful of finely chopped chives (I cut them up with kitchen scissors) and mix it through.  You could do it in the thermomix beforehand but I find its quicker to make it while the thermomix is cooking the chicken...if only I had another thermomix hihi or at least another bowl!

Serve with the mashed potatoes and I cut the chicken breast cut in thick slices crossways layed on the mash and covered in sauce...mmm bon appetit!

The recipe was converted roughly from a recipe from a cookbook I have in french called Vite Fait Vite Pret by Marabout.