Chicken Stroganoff

Chicken Stroganoff

This simple but stylish variation of the more classic Russian Beef Stroganoff has proved itself time and time again since the first time I cooked it in the tiny kitchen of my first apartment.
That seems so long ago now and boy, was I young! If only I had known then what I know now. Sound familiar? It’s fun to look back on those days when we were so giddy with life, though. But I digress…
You’re talking basic ingredients here. Real quick preparation with magical results. People will think you’ve spent hours slaving over a hot stove!

Ingredients:
1 pound chicken
5 oz mushrooms
1 large onion
2 garlic cloves
1 green bell pepper
1/2 tsp paprika powder
1 tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp mustard powder
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup sour cream
2 tbsp butter
pepper
salt
For the heck of it:
Seeing this old and bad scan of the living room of my first tiny apartment in Gouda is what triggered the chicken stroganoff thing! I must have been 19 or barely 20 when I moved in there. It looks so delightfully girly and well, way too full of furniture.

*sigh*
Directions:
 Cut the chicken in strips or pieces.

Cut one medium bell pepper in pieces as well.

And cut a large onion in quartered rings.

I’ve used a soft tea towel to brush off roughly 8 mushrooms, removed the stems and sliced them.

Grate or mince two medium-sized garlic cloves or a large one.

Mix up 1 slightly heaping tbsp all-purpose flour and 1/2 tsp mustard powder.

Heat 1 tbsp butter and cook the chicken until tender. The chicken shouldn’t brown. Remove the chicken strips from the pan.
Heat one more tbsp butter and sauté the bell pepper and onion for 2 minutes before adding the mushrooms. Cook until the mushrooms have softened, then add the garlic. Give it 30 more seconds.

Add the flour, stir and cook for a minute to neutralize the rawness.

Pour in 1 cup chicken broth, stir well, add the chicken strips and bring it all to a boil.

Season with 1/2 tsp salt—though this depends on how salty your broth is—and a good bit of pepper. Simmer without the lid on for 5 minutes.

Add 1/2 tsp sweet paprika powder, 1/2 a cup sour cream (I’ve used a low-fat crème fraiche), stir and simmer for another 5 minutes.

Serve over rice or noodles to get the full effect.

You literally whip this up in 20 minutes, but it’s such a magical dinner! Friends who ate it said in one long breath: “This is soooooo good“, after they took their first bite. Try it today, you won’t believe your taste buds.