Creamy Chicken Stroganoff with Mushrooms & Smoked Paprika

A Word from Me, Momtrepreneur

I am a big fan of chicken dishes as I’m not really a big red meat eater. As many of you may know, I’m not a big cooking person, so easy meals that don’t require a long time at the stove (the longer I’m there, the more likely I am to burn myself or the food!), the better. This dish is one of those dishes that looks heavenly from photo above and doesn’t take forever to make either. The big bonus, too, is that it’s a great family meal for young and old!

A Word from Mandy

This is a pared down version of a dish I watched Gordon Ramsay cooking. It’s not nearly as ‘cheffy’ as it was, and while I know that many children don’t eat peppers or mushrooms, you can easily leave those ingredients out and cook the vegetables they do like (ha ha) on the side. I sometimes leave the pepper and mushrooms out, or if I’m in ‘Monster Mom’ mode, I tell them to pick out the vegetables they don’t like. The smoked paprika has a lovely sweet, smoky flavour, and you can find it at some of the larger supermarkets, but if you can’t, ordinary paprika will do the trick. There isn’t a great deal of sauce, and it’s quite a thin sauce, but I think it’s just enough to deliver the flavour and moisten the rice.

Ingredients

• 4- 5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (1 packet) cut into thin strips
• 2 tsp/10ml smoked (or ordinary) paprika
• 1 tbsp/15ml flour
• 2 tbsp/30ml olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 red pepper, sliced
• Button mushrooms, halved, or quartered if very large
• 150ml chicken stock
• Splash white wine
• 50ml sour cream
• 2 tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped (optional)
• 1–2 cups rice

Method

• Put rice on to cook and start chicken when rice starts to boil.
• Sprinkle the smoked paprika and flour over the chicken and season with salt and pepper. In a hot pan, pan fry the chicken in half the olive oil for a few minutes, until golden and mostly cooked.
• Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and put aside on a plate.
• Put the pan back on the heat and add the rest of the olive oil, and fry the pepper gently until tender.
• Add the mushrooms and fry for a further two to three minutes, then add the garlic and give it one scant minute, as garlic burns very easily.
• Add a splash of white wine, which will fizz up, then add the chicken stock and bring to the boil.
• Stir in the sour cream, then add the chicken plus any cooking juices that have accumulated on the plate, and bring back to the boil.
• Serve on a bed of rice, sprinkled with chopped parsley if desired.

Prep and Cooking Time

• Hands on time: 15-20 minutes
• Start to finish: 15-20 minutes

Recipe courtesy of Dinner Time with Mandy Collins

About Dinner Time with Mandy Collins

Dinner Time! by South African author Mandy Collins is not your usual recipe book. In fact, it’s less of a recipe book and more of a family feeding plan that takes the guesswork out of planning and cooking family dinners.

With weekly grocery lists and pared-back recipes, you’ll soon be producing dinner every night with the minimum of bother, with meals designed to please the whole family – even the fussiest of eaters.

The book launches on 1 December 2014, and is available both as an e-book (R180) and a hard copy (R300). 

To pre-order your copy, email [email protected] today!