Paprika Chicken with Creamy Paprika Sauce (an easy all-in-one Thermomix dinner)

 Last night I got home late after a busy day and didn’t have dinner organised, so it was ‘Thermomix to the rescue’ once again! I had a quick think, and this is what I came up with. Nothing fancy, just an easy and tasty dinner with basic ingredients, that took all of 25 minutes to make. Sometimes that’s just what we need when we can’t be bothered, right? (It is really yummy though, and the chicken breasts are amazingly tender and juicy when steamed!)

 This fed our family of six and there were plenty of leftovers, which is always a bonus since everyone generally wants dinner for breakfast at our house. 

 This recipe is gluten free, and egg free, and if you omit the butter is also dairy free. The sauce is blended with cashews to make it creamy, but if you can’t have nuts, see the nut free variation below. I’ve added some tips for those of you without a Thermomix, so you don’t miss out.

{Update} For those of you with a TM5, make sure you have 1 litre (1000g) of liquid in the bowl when cooking rice, or you’ll find it won’t cook through properly. You may also need to cook for 25-30 mins instead of 20-25 mins.

See also the notes at the end of the recipe for a GAPS/Paleo version!!

Paprika Chicken with Creamy Paprika Sauce

2014-06-29 02:14:08

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Rice

1. 900g water if using a TM31; 1000g water if using a TM5
2. 380g basmati rice

Veges

1. (these are just suggestions, use what you have)
2. 3 carrots, peeled and sliced thinly
3. 200g green beans, topped and tailed
4. 1-2 zucchini, thinly sliced
5. 150g frozen corn

Chicken

1. 600-700g chicken breast fillets, sliced in 2cm thick pieces
2. smoked paprika powder (approx 1 tsp)
3. herb salt (eg. Herbamare)
4. garlic powder (approx 1/2 tsp)
5. 1 Tbsp butter or ghee (optional)

Sauce

1. 60g raw cashews
2. 60g water
3. 2 tsp chicken or vegetable stock paste (my chicken stock paste recipe here)
4. 1 tsp smoked paprika powder
5. (See notes below for nut free version)

Instructions

1. Pour water into mixing bowl.
2. Weigh rice into steaming basket and rinse well, then place basket inside mixing bowl.
3. Place chicken pieces onto Varoma tray and sprinkle with paprika, herb salt and garlic powder, and dot with butter or ghee if using.
4. Place Varoma into position with lid on.
5. Turn speed dial to speed 5 for a few seconds to wash the water through the rice. (That's my little trick to make sure the top of the rice cooks well and you don't end up with crunchy bits.)
6. Begin cooking for 20 mins/Varoma/speed 2 while you cut up the veges, adding them to the dish as you go. (It takes about 10 minutes for the steam to really start filling the Varoma, so it's easy enough to get the veges cut up in that time.)
7. At the end of the cooking time, check that the chicken is cooked; add a couple more minutes if not.
8. Remove chicken, vegetables and rice to Thermoservers or serving dishes. (Or if you're having an "I don't feel like doing heaps of dishes" night, just leave them in the Varoma and basket and set aside.)
9. Add all the sauce ingredients to the little bit of liquid left in the bowl. (There should only be about 3cm of water left as the rice has absorbed most of it.)
10. Blend 1 min/speed 9. Scrape down lid and sides of bowl with spatula and blend again if needed, until smooth. Season to taste.
11. Serve the rice onto plates, top with veges and chicken, and drizzle with sauce.

GAPS/Paleo version

1. Instead of rice, you could make either cauliflower rice or cauliflower mash. For cauliflower rice, cut 600g cauliflower into florets, and chop in Thermomix bowl 5 sec/reverse/speed 5. Remove to internal steamer basket and set aside. Reduce water to 500g, begin cooking, add steamer basket to bowl 10 mins into cooking time. (You may need to tip off a little water before making the sauce - you only need about 3cm water left in the bowl.)
2. For the cauliflower mash version, see my recipe for cauliflower mash (on blog), place all mash ingredients in bowl, cook 20 mins or until chicken is cooked through, then remove Varoma and blend. Remove mash to a serving dish, leaving about 3cm of mash in the bowl. Add sauce ingredients, doubling the water, and blend.
3. Omit corn from recipe for a GAPS version - add in some diced pumpkin, squash or peas.

Nut free version

1. Leave out the cashews and add 250g coconut cream instead, with the 2-3 tsp vege stock paste and 1 tsp paprika powder. Warm it up a bit, 1 min/90C/speed 4. Season to taste.

Non Thermomix version

1. Pour 100ml boiling water over the raw cashews and allow to soak (covered) while the meal cooks. Cook the rice in a rice cooker or on the stovetop. Cook the chicken and vegetables in two layers in a steamer, or in a large frypan with a lid, over med-low heat, until done. Blend the soaked cashews with soaking water and remaining sauce ingredients in a powerful blender until smooth and creamy. Season to taste. (Massel stock powder can be used instead of stock paste.)

By Quirky Cooking

Quirky Cooking https://www.quirkycooking.com.au/