Chicken Rashness - A Chicken Recipe with a Rashness!

Have you ever had one of those moments, when a most rashly invented, on-the-spur recipe actually turns out great, and then you don’t remember the recipe? Well, I had one of those just now. So why am I writing about it? Well, I had this great idea (born under the influence of half a bottle of wine, no doubt!) that if I try to write it out, I might actually recall the recipe. I don’t know the scientific basis for such an assumption, but what the heck… it’s my blog – I can write what I want, even though it is utter rubbish!

 

So here goes… the dish I hereby name Chicken Rashness is prepared thus (should serve two, but I was quite hungry!):

 

Ingredients:

1. Two cloves of Garlic, finely chopped.
2. One large leek, finely sliced.
3. One medium sized tomato, roughly chopped.
4. Salt, Pepper, whatever herbs you can lay your hands on – I used thyme, sage & rosemary – to taste.
5. Half a can of baked beans (200g approx.).
6. Anchovy paste – 1 tsp.
7. Oil / Butter – 1 or 2 tsps, depending on how healthy you like to eat. By the way, I used anchovy fillets preserved in sunflower oil for the paste, and used the preservation oil for cooking – gave it extra flavor, I’d like to believe!
8. About 100ml Water (you can use broth, if you are fancy!)
9. One boneless chicken breast, cut in half if you want – I did.
10. Mustard Sauce – 1tbsp.
11. Honey – 1 tsp.

 

Preparation:

1. In a saucepan, pour the oil / butter. When it heats up, add the garlic. Cook for a few seconds.
2. Add the sliced leeks. Cook for a while, till slightly softened, then add the tomatoes.
3. Add the salt, pepper and herbs at this stage – it releases the juices of the vegetables better. Cook for 2-3 minutes.
4. Add the anchovy paste, baked beans and water. Bring to boil.
5. As it starts boiling, put the chicken in. As the water / broth reduces, the chicken will cook. It hardly took me 5 minutes – but then again, I did not really check the watch, so if you are indeed attempting this recipe, do check for doneness! If needed, I guess you can add more water / broth, but not so much that it becomes runny or your chicken gets overcooked…
6. When the chicken is nearly done, add the honey and mustard sauce, and keep stirring and cooking till the chicken is done and the gravy has become thick.
7. Remove from heat and serve with a side of bread, polenta, rice or Yorkshire Pudding, for all I care!

 

There. I believe my idea actually worked! I think I remembered the recipe in full – or did I?! Eh well… If any of you adventurous folks do try this recipe out, do let me know if you were as enthralled by the outcome as I was. If not, I’ll know I’ve missed something… or the wine had mellowed my taste buds. Either way, we’ll know!