Creamy Tarragon Chicken with Celeriac Mash

This is a dish that is so easy to make and tastes great. It was one of those nights thinking, What am I going to cook for dinner? and seeing what was in the fridge and throwing all the ingredients together and it worked really well. Having said that, don't think I had celeriac on hand that night I don't think I served anything else with it.

What is celeriac? some of you may be wondering if you have not seen or heard of it. Celeriac or basically celery root, may appear to most people to be just an ugly, uninteresting, knobbly root but celeriac has inner beauty. The flesh - crispy when raw, silky smooth when cooked - has a delicate taste which suggests the flavours of celery and parsley with a slight nuttiness. It has nutritional benefits as well it contains vitamins and minerals some of them are vitamin C, potassium, and phosphorus.


TIPS for buying and preparing celeriac

BUYING

Choose medium-sized celeriac that are firm and free from soft spots or damage. Allow for around 1/4 of the weight to be discarded during preparation.

PREPARING

Trim leaves (if present) and root end. Scrub well and cut off the skin quite thickly to remove any brown bits and the root channels in the base. Drop cut pieces in water with a squeeze of lemon juice to prevent discolouration.


Ingredients

Olive oil
4 Chicken breasts
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 sticks celery, chopped
150g spinach, washed and cut down
11/2 Teaspoons chicken stock
4 Cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 Cup dry white wine
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
1 Cup of water
1 Cup cream
11/2 tablespoons double cream
2 Teaspoons cornflour
1 Teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 Tablespoons tarragon, finely chopped
3 Tablespoons Parmesan cheese


For the mash

11/2kg Celeriac
20g Butter
1/2 Teaspoon chicken stock
1/2 Cup Parmesan cheese
1/4 Cup cream


Method for chicken

1. Heat a small amount of oil in a large fry pan add onion, garlic and celery cook until soft. Add water, wine, stock powder and lemon juice stir until heated. Mix a little water with the cornflour and add stir until mixture thickens.

I add the cornflour at this point, before the cream, so the cream does not curdle from all the acidity of the lemon juice and wine. So the mixture will be quite thick, this is fine as it balances out when the cream is added.

2. Add both creams and Dijon stir to combine. Boil or microwave chopped carrot until tender. Add spinach to cream mixture and stir until soft, add the carrots and the tarragon and stir until heated through. Serve immediately

3. For the chicken breasts heat an oiled pan add chicken and cook until browned on both sides and cooked through. This can be cooking while your making the Tarragon sauce so everything is ready to go at the same time.



For the Celeriac Mash

1. Peel (making sure all tough brown grainy outer skin has been removed) and chop celeriac into cubes place in a saucepan covered with water, add some lemon juice to the water this helps to stop the browning of the vegetable. Cook until tender and drain.

2. Place celeriac in a large bowl add butter, chicken stock and cream blend until smooth with no lumps. (you can do this in a blender if preferred, I have a handheld bar mix) Add Parmesan in 2 lots blending as you add. If the cheese doesn't melt all the way through you can finish off in the microwave. Cream can be adjusted if the mixture seems a little thick just add a touch more cream. The end result should have a smooth creamy consistency that similar to creamy mash potato.


To serve place a few spoonfuls of the creamy vegetable, tarragon mixture onto a plate, place chicken on top, pour a little more sauce over the top and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Place mash to the side, I like to pipe my mash out of a bag with a nice piping head in three small mounds,not necessary it just looks nicer.


Photo's taken by me unless otherwise stated

Rich Beef Stew

Well it's coming into winter again time to put the BBQ away and start making hot soups and stews. When the temperature starts to drop outside your mind automatically stops thinking about fish and chicken with salad, you want good wholesome hearty winter warmers. This time of year you don't mind the stove or oven being on for hours. This is the time when you can do slow roasted meals, or pot roasts, so I have decided to post a rich, hearty beef stew recipe to start warming things back up again.

Ingredients

1kg Chuck steak
1/4 Cup brandy
11/2 Cups dry red wine
5 Sprigs thyme, fresh
4 Bay leaves
4 Cloves garlic, crushed
2 Tablespoons olive oil
30g Butter
4 cups beef stock
3 Tablespoons tomato paste
5 Small brown onions
200g Button mushrooms, Quartered
2 Carrots, peeled, chopped
6 bacon rashers, chopped
2 Tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
2 teaspoons cornflour
bisto instant gravy granules (optional)


Method

1. Cut steak into approximately 3cm pieces. Combine wine, brandy, garlic, bay leaves and thyme in a bowl or storage container add steak, cover and refrigerate several hours or overnight.

2. Drain the steak reserving the marinade for later use. Heat oil in a fry pan and cook steak in batches until browned. In an ovenproof dish add steak, reserved marinade, stock and tomato paste. Cook covered either in a slow oven or very low stove top setting for 21/2 hours.

3. Melt butter in another pan add onions, cook until lightly browned, remove onions from pan and add chopped mushrooms cook for few minutes and remove. Wipe pan to remove any left over butter then add bacon, cook until browned and crisp, drain on absorbent paper.

4. Add onions, mushrooms and bacon to the steak mixture and cook for a further 30 minutes still covered. Boil or microwave carrots until just tender, drain and add to stew.

5. If cooking in the oven remove and place on stove top. Add a little water to the cornflour and pour into stew, stir until mixture thickens. At this point I add bisto to thicken it up all the way and it adds even more flavour. If your not using this you will need to use more cornflour for the thickness of the stew. Also taste test it, as if not using bisto you may want to add a little more beef stock powder to mixture.

To serve I either heap spoonfuls on a bed of mash potato or I serve it with baby new potatoes.


All photo's taken by me unless otherwise stated.