Chicken Louis

Chicken Louis

Serves 6

(America)

This recipe is my version of  Chicken ala King.  I  think  the use of red, yellow,  and orange  bell  peppers and the  niblets corn adds visual interest to what is  normally a rather bland looking dish while the addition of  cayenne pepper, lemon juice, and paprika add an interesting contrast to the richness of the heavy cream based sauce.

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups chicken broth (14 fl oz)

1 1/2 pounds of skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

5 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 ½ cups (1/2 cup each yellow, red, and orange bell peppers, cut into ¼ -inch dice)

½ cup niblet corn

1 1/4 teaspoons Kosher or  sea salt, or to taste

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup finely chopped onion

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 ¼ cups heavy cream

¼ pound white mushrooms, trimmed and quartered

3 large egg yolks

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, or to taste

2 tablespoons dry Sherry

½ teaspoon sweet paprika

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

6 slices firm white sandwich bread, toasted crust remove and sliced diagonally

¼ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Preparation

1.  Over moderate heat, in a heavy saucepan, bring to a simmer the broth and add the chicken. Cook the chicken until it is cooked through.

2.  Remove the saucepan from the heat and transfer the chicken to a cutting board and allow to cool.

3.  Strain broth through cheese cloth or a fine sieve into a heatproof 2-cup measuring cup.  And set aside.

4.  In a small bowl whisk together yolks, lemon juice, Sherry, cayenne, and paprika.  And set the yolk mixture aside.

5.  In a large, heavy pot over moderately high heat melt 2 tablespoons of butter.  Sauté the peppers, stirring, until softened but not browned, about 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer peppers to a bowl and stir in 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. And set aside.

6.  Add the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter and the onions to the pot and cook over moderately low heat, stirring, until softened and translucent but not browned, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add flour and 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.  Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring for 2 minutes.

7.  Whisk in 3/4 cup of broth, then all of cream and mushrooms, and simmer until mushrooms are tender, about 5 minutes.

8.  Whisk 1/2 cup sauce from the pot into the yolk mixture, then stir yolk mixture back into sauce remaining in pot. Cook over low heat, stirring (do not allow to boil or simmer or the sauce will curdle) until sauce is slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and reserve.

9.  Cut chicken into bit sized cubes (about ½ inch square) and add along with peppers and the niblet corn to the sauce, then cook over low heat (do not simmer or the sauce will curdle), stirring occasionally, until chicken, corn, and peppers are just heated through. Add more broth to thin if desired.

10.  Spoon the Chicken Louis over toast points arranged on 6 plates and sprinkle with parsley to dress.

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