Chicken and Mushroom Paprika Josceline Dimbleby
Josceline Dimbleby’s “Cooking With Herbs and Spices” (published by Sainsbury in 1979) was a fantastic source for simple, reliably delicious suppers for a busy working mother.
My battered and much spattered copy (definitely qualifying as vintage by now) has never been out of use, but recently I have found myself longing for the (so innocent) days when interestingly favoured dishes like hers seemed exotic and new. Interestingly, they seem almost as exotic now. And so wonderfully easy.
Josceline’s Chicken and Mushroom Paprika plays on Hungarian tradition (not a part of our current fascination with everything Asian/Middle or Far Eastern/Mexican/ etc.) but at its absolute simplest – chicken, mushrooms, cream, butter and paprika (plus salt and pepper) – that is all. May I give it 5 stars?
Chicken and Mushrooms Paprika
ALL YOU NEED: recipe adjusted to serve two
½ lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into thin slices
juice of one lemon
1 teaspoon paprika
1 ounce butter
3-4 ounces button mushrooms, sliced thin
¼ pint single cream
salt, black pepper
a little chopped parsley for garnish
METHOD:
Put the chicken slices into a bowl with the lemon juice, salt, pepper and paprika and mix thoroughly.
Melt butter in a large frying pan and cook chicken gently over low heat, stirring now and then, for 5-10 minutes. Add the sliced mushrooms and cream to the pan and stir. Cook for another minute or two on low heat.
Serve with basmati rice or boiled new potatoes and a salad.