Somerset chicken

I still remember how I used to watch every penny during my first 8 months in the UK. Because I had to furnish a new home, I could not afford buying anything for myself, but was terribly interested in everything that was typically English: culture, architecture, food and ingredients. To have the cake and eat it too, I spoiled myself with something inexpensive and bought a little leaflet about traditional English dishes for a couple of pounds at the local heritage centre. This is the first recipe I tried and loved immediately. It is called Somerset chicken.

INGREDIENTS:
400g chicken breast
1 large onion
1 tablespoon flour
200ml milk
100g grated cheddar cheese
1 teaspoon English mustard
1 sip of cider
little butter
oil
pinch of salt and pepper

Slice the chicken breast into thin slices, season it with salt and pepper. Fry the chicken in a frying pan using a little oil and butter until golden brown. Remove the chicken from the pan and add the finely chopped onions. Once the onion has broken down, add the flour and stir it well. Gradually add the milk and stir it well to get a thick sauce. Add the cheese and mustard and mix. It is important to use English mustard as this give the instinctive flavour of this dish. Add the cider if you wish to. Let the sauce bubble for a minute or two and add the meat. After a few minutes of cooking it is ready to serve but you can distribute the meat and sauce into a pan, sprinkle the top with some grated cheese and put it into the oven for a few minutes. Serve it with cooked, green vegetables (peas, broccoli) and cooked baby potatoes.

For those who like to make some experiments: instead of Cheddar use Red Leicester. (I probably would be banned from Somerset for this tip. 🙂 )

This this is lovely and is ready within 30 minutes. Try it, you won’t regret it. Enjoy.