‘Blast From the Past Recipe’

Chicken Breasts with Cucumber, Dill and Mustard (Serves 4)

This was one of the first recipes I shared back in the summer of 2020 when I was just getting started with Menu Mistress. Before finding this recipe in a magazine, I hadn’t come across cucumber cooked in a sauce; it was a revelation, and for this reason I wanted to re-share it to make sure you don’t overlook it!…

40g unsalted butter

4 skinless chicken breasts

1 teaspoon flour (use gluten free flour if required)

100ml dry, white vermouth

600ml chicken stock

1 cucumber

175g créme fraiche

2 teaspoons grain mustard

Juice of half a lemon

A small bunch dill, chopped

Sea salt and black pepper

1. Melt 25g of butter in a frying pan. Lightly brown the chicken breasts, season and sprinkle over the flour, cook for a minute and then add the vermouth, reduce by two-thirds.
2. Add the stock, bring to the boil, then turn down the heat to simmer gently. Cover and cook for about 30-40 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through
3. Whilst the chicken is cooking, peel the cucumber, cut it in half and deseed, then cut into slices the thickness of a pound coin.
4. Fry the cucumber slices in the remaining butter. Cook quickly until they are just tender – not floppy – and tinged with gold in places. Remove to a plate.
5. Once the chicken is cooked, remove from the pan, keep warm. Boil the remaining liquid until it is reduced by half and starting to look slightly syrupy. Add the crème fraiche, mustard and half the lemon juice. Cook until the sauce has thickened to the consistency of single cream.
6. Return the chicken to the pan along with the cucumber and the chopped dill. Taste to adjust the seasoning – perhaps a dash more of lemon juice or mustard.
7. Serve with ‘Concetta’s potatoes’ or steamed new potatoes and green fine beans.