Chicken with Leek, Asparagus, and Peas

Ingredients

• 1 chicken breast fillet, skinless, boneless
• salt & pepper
• 1 small knob butter
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 small-medium leek, rinsed, trimmed, and thickly sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled, thinly sliced
• 2 tbsp white wine
• 100 ml chicken stock
• 1 tsp wholegrain mustard
• 1 tsp dijon mustard
• 4 asparagus spears, trimmed, sliced on the diagonal into 6 cm sections
• 2 tbsp frozen peas
• 15 ml coconut cream
• 1/2 tsp dried parsley
• 1/2 tsp dried tarragon
• 1 tbsp lemon juice

Method

1. Pat the chicken dry, season with salt & pepper on both sides.
2. Heat the butter and olive oil to medium-high in a skillet or frypan.
3. Sear chicken on all sides for 4 minutes until browned but not completely cooked. Remove, cut into three sections, and and set aside.
4. Lower heat to low-medium and add the leek and garlic. Cook gently for 5-6 minutes until soft.
5. Raise heat to medium, add the wine, and let the alcohol bubble away. Loosen any scrapy bits in the pan.
6. Add the stock and stir in the mustard.
7. When it reaches a simmer, lower the heat to low-medium, add the chicken, cover and simmer for 5-6 minutes.
8. Add the asparagus and peas, simmer uncovered for no more than 2 minutes, keeping the vegetables a bright green.
9. Stir in the coconut cream, lemon juice, and herbs. Let it come back to a gentle bubble, 1 minute or less.
10. Transfer chicken to a serving bowl, then top with the rest of the pan’s contents.
11. Add a grind of pepper, serve.

Serves one.

Notes

My chicken breast was quite large so I cut it into five sections and only cooked three of them, refrigerating the other two.

I didn’t quite get the balance right, the sauce should have thickened more but I didn’t want to overcook the asparagus and the peas. Next time I might add a bit less stock and/or simmer for a bit longer before adding the veg.