A trip down memory lane this evening in one of our head chef’s favourite childhood recipes. Nutritious, chewy brown rice is the perfect bed for this flavour-packed sauce. Our big tip here is to make sure you take the stock off the boil and let it cool for a minute, before you add the crème fraîche to make sure you don’t split your sauce.
The quantities provided above are averages only.
Boxes and ingredients are packed in facilities that handles Peanut, Nuts, Sesame, Fish, Crustaceans, Milk, Egg, Mustard, Celery, Soya, Gluten and Sulphites. Due to the war in Ukraine, it has been necessary to substitute sunflower oil with rapeseed oil in some products without a label change. The FSA have advised that allergic reactions to rapeseed oil are rare.
2
Brown Basmati Rice
8
British Chicken Thighs
9
Thyme
2
Garlic Clove
1
Chestnut Mushrooms
1
Chicken Stock Pot
2
Dijon Mustard
(Contains Sulphites, Mustard)
1
Creme Fraiche
(Contains Milk)
Boil a large pot of water on medium-high heat with 1/2 tsp of salt for the rice. Rinse the rice in a sieve under running water for 30 seconds. Once the water in the pot comes to a rapid boil add the rice and cook for 25 mins. Tip:The water must be rapidly boiling or else the cooking time will be longer.
Pre-heat your oven to 200 degrees. Pat the chicken thighs with kitchen towel (if you have some) to dry the skin. Rub a bit of olive oil on each thigh then season them well with a pinch of salt and pepper.
Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil in a non-stick frying pan on medium high heat. Once really hot, add the chicken skin-side down for 2-3 mins (until the skin is crispy).Transfer the chicken to a baking tray (skin-side up) and cook on the top shelf of the oven for 20 mins. Tip: Do not wash the frying pan as you’ll use it later.
LH: Meanwhile, pinch the thyme stalks between two fingers and run your fingers along them to strip off the leaves. Peel and finely chop the garlic. Roughly chop the chestnut mushrooms.
Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil in the frying pan on medium heat. Once hot add the thyme leaves and garlic and cook for a minute. Add the mushrooms and cook for 5 mins until they have softened up.Tip: If you have some white wine or dry sherry open - pour a good glug in and let it bubble off.
Add the chicken stock pot with 400ml of water and stir until the stock has dissolved. Reduce the mixture by a third then turn off the heat. Stir through the Dijon mustard and crème fraîche.
Once cooked, take your chicken thighs out of the oven and pop them in your pan with the sauce. Leave them in the Dijon mushroom sauce to soak up the flavours for 5 mins. Taste and season to your liking.
Serve the chicken with the Dijon mushroom sauce on a bed of the wholesome brown rice.