Chicken a la King
Classic Chicken a la King is a comfort food favorite. Who can say no to chicken cooked in a creamy sauce with peas, mushrooms and peppers?
Servings 6
Calories 352kcal
Ingredients
- 1 whole free-range chicken
- 1 carrot quartered
- 1 celery stick roughly chopped
- 1 leek washed and roughly chopped
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns
- 1 teaspoon sea salt flakes
for the Chicken à la King
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 5 tablespoons flour
- 1-2 cups chicken stock chicken's poaching liquid
- 1/2-1 cup milk
- 3/4 cup cream
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 1 red pepper thinly sliced
- 1 yellow pepper thinly sliced
- 250 g mushrooms sliced
- 2 cloves garlic crushed
- 1.5 cups frozen peas
- juice and zest of 1 lemon
- salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a large stock pot, place the chicken, carrot, celery, leek, onion, garlic and herbs.
- Top with cold water and place over medium heat.
- Allow to the chicken to simmer for 1 hour-1 hour 15 mins until it's cooked through.
- Remove the chicken from the liquid and allow to cool.
- Drain the stock through a muslin-lined sieve, reserving the liquid. (This makes the most delicious chicken stock so freeze the left-overs in freezer-proof bags for later use.)
- To make the chicken a la king, sauté the onions and peppers in a splash of olive oil until golden brown and cooked. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- In the same pan, fry the mushrooms until golden brown then add the garlic and fry for another 30 seconds then tip into the same bowl as the peppers.
- Poach the peas in boiling water until de-frosted then drain and set aside.
- In a large pot, melt the butter then whisk in the flour to make a roux.
- Slowly whisk in the stock, milk and cream and allow the sauce to simmer until thick and smooth. You might not need all of the liquid.
- Shred the chicken, discarding any skin, boned and cartillage. I break the chicken meat into large chunks as I don't like it when it loses its texture.
- Add the chicken and vegetables to the white sauce then stir well. If the sauce is too thick at this stage, simply add a splash of milk/stock.
- Add the lemon juice and zest and allow to simmer gently for 10 minutes.
- Season to taste then serve with rice/mashed potatoes.
Nutrition
Calories: 352kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 22g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 80mg | Sodium: 490mg | Potassium: 629mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 3226IU | Vitamin C: 84mg | Calcium: 78mg | Iron: 3mg