Portabella Chicken in Chive Cream Sauce
Chicken and mushrooms, looking through my collection of recipes that I have created over the years these seem to be two prevalent ingredients, especially since I developed IC. They seem to match so wonderfully together and provide the backbone for a vast array of scrumptious, often very nutritious recipes, if not entire meals.
This recipe calls for Parmesan cheese, although some ICers can tolerate traditional Parmesan (such as the type you grate at home from a wedge), others have better luck with Kraft brand Parmesan, which is the variety this recipe as originally created with. Light cream and 1% or skim milk can be used without the recipe losing anything. Crème fresh is an alternative to sour cream and can be found in the dairy section of most large grocery stores and specialty shops. If you are able to handle sour cream (light or regular) it can be used instead. I prefer using only homemade or organic chicken stock, not only is the flavour more intense, and natural tasting, homemade and organic stocks contain less preservatives. The amount of bell pepper can be increased if you like. Bell peppers are an excellent source of Vitamins C, E and carotenes, and they also have antioxidant properties.
This tasty dish goes excellently with a light salad and a crusty French style bread, or alternatively served over a healthy rice or pasta of your choice.
Portabella Chicken in Chive Cream Sauce
2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts already cooked ahead of time (organic if possible)
2 medium sized Portabella mushrooms, cut into small pieces
2 cups light cream
2 cups crème fresh or light sour cream (soy sour cream can be used as well)
¾ cup milk (I use 1%)
4 tbsp very, finely chopped red bell pepper
3 tbsp dried chives (if tolerated by your bladder if not omit)
1 tsp garlic powder (if tolerated by your bladder, if not omit)
1 tsp dried basil leaves
1 ½ tsp dried parsley flakes v ¼ cup all purpose flour (organic and/or unbleached if possible)
¼ cup chicken stock
5-6 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste (note: not all IC patients can tolerate either salt and pepper or both, so be light handed when seasoning remember you can always add more but it’s hard to take out)
Brown the mushroom pieces in 3tbsp oil; add the dried chives, garlic powder, red bell pepper, onion salt and basil. Cook for about 7 minutes over medium heat, stirring often. Stir in Remove the vegetable from the pan, but retain as much of the olive oil as possible. Stir in the flour; add more oil as needed, creating a golden roué of sorts.
Add in the chicken stock and cream and bring to a high simmer, but not a boil as this may cause the cream to burn to the bottom of your pot. Reduce the heat and cover for about 10 minutes, stirring periodically.
Whisk in the milk, crème fresh (or sour cream) and salt& pepper (if using) until desired creamy thickness is achieve. Add in the Parmesan cheese, reduce the heat to low and cook for about 15 minutes, stirring often.
Add in the cooked chicken breasts (these can also be cooked at the same time as you are preparing the sauce, or ahead of time if you prefer), and return the vegetable mixture to the pan. Coat the chicken breasts well in the sauce and serve at once.
Yields 2 servings