Oh dear lord, it’s been a while since I posted anything. Life has been chaotic to say the least!! I gave birth to a gorgeous baby boy (number 4) back on February 25th, after what felt like years of suffering. It was really only a couple of months but gee did it drag!!! Sitting at the computer became a thing of the past…and still is really although today I have managed to steal a few moments of uninterrupted computer time…so best I make this quick before those moments are gone.
Ok, so I was experimenting with flavours last year…oh look, the toddler is awake, he can wait a few minutes…and discovered that saffron and vanilla go swimmingly with chicken. That’s saffron and vanilla together in the one dish. Yes, surprising that a “sweet” flavouring like vanilla could work so well in a savoury meal but trust me, it does! It’s my new taste sensation.
I discovered vanilla powder (ground vanilla beans) at a local health food store and have fallen in love with the stuff. It is a fraction of the price of whole vanilla beans and is much nicer than any extract, essence or paste I have ever tried. I suggest you get your hands on a pack. If you can’t find it at your local health food store, let Google help you as it is also available online.
1 leek
1 stalk of celery finely sliced
4 largish carrots roughly diced (or swede if looking for a low chemical option)
3-4 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 1/2 tsp of salt
1 tsp of saffron
1/4 tsp of vanilla powder (or 1 vanilla bean, scraped)
1 kg of chicken (I prefer drumsticks with the knob end removed but thighs work well too)
Enough water to just cover
2 cups of cabbage or the like (eg silverbeet, spinach, buk choy if tolerated)
1/2 cup of rice milk (or whatever milk you tolerate)
1-2 tbsp of potato starch
4-6 spring onions
Grind the saffron with the salt in a mortar and pestle to break up the saffron strands. Sautee leek, garlic, celery and carrots in a little oil until leek is just wilted. Add the chicken, saffron salt, vanilla and water and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer until chicken is cooked through, adding the cabbage for the last 5 minutes of cooking. Add the spring onion then stir the potato starch into the milk and add to the pot, stirring constantly until thickened. Season with extra salt to taste. Tis delish served over a mix of rice and quinoa.
mindyourfeed 