Chicken with pumpkin, carrots and onions is an idea for a tasty and quick dinner, perfect for any occasion. It is a one-pot dish, very easy to prepare. It is also very versatile, I often prepare it in various flavors, e.g. with mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes or spinach. Now that the pumpkin season is in full swing, I recommend you to use the queen of autumn – pumpkin – as an addition. You can prepare the whole thing the day before and serve it the next day for dinner, or make it immediately before serving.
Preparation
Wash the chicken breast meat, dry it and cut it into smaller fillets. Season each piece with salt, pepper, turmeric, granulated garlic, and red sweet paprika. Finally, gently coat each piece in flour. Add a tablespoon of clarified butter to the pan and fry the meat on both sides on the hot side, about 1 – 2 minutes. Transfer the fried meat to a plate. Add a tablespoon of rapeseed oil to the same hot pan, fry the diced onion, then add the grated carrots and pumpkin. Simmer the vegetables, on a medium burner, for a few moments.
Ingredients:
for 4 – 5 servings
600 – 700 g chicken breast
1 onion, diced
1 small carrot, grated on a coarse grater
1 cup pumpkin, grated on a coarse grater (Hokkaido in my case)
pepper, salt to taste
1 teaspoon red sweet paprika
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
1/2 teaspoon marjoram
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon flour for coating the meat (e.g. corn, rice or wheat)
1 cup water or broth
1/2 cup sweet whipping cream 30%
2 tablespoons chopped parsley for garnish
clarified butter or rapeseed oil for frying
In the next step, add the previously fried meat, pour the broth over everything, add bay leaf and marjoram. Bring everything to a boil and stew, covered, for about 10 minutes. When the meat is soft enough, add the whipping cream and cook the whole thing for a while on the lowest heat. The sauce should be creamy and velvety, it should reduce during cooking. Finally, season the dish to taste. If you want the sauce to be thicker, you can put e.g. 1/3 of the sauce with vegetables into a blender with a ladle, blend until smooth, add it again to the pan and mix with the whole. The dish is served sprinkled with parsley with your favorite toppings. Potatoes, rice, pasta or groats and homemade salad will work great here.
As a side dish, classic boiled potatoes, rice, groats, and a homemade salad will work great here. The secret ingredient that definitely affects the taste and finish of the sauce is sweet whipping cream. Its presence makes the sauce creamy and velvety. Together with pumpkin, it also gives the whole thing a delicate sweetness. Meat prepared in this way is juicy, soft and aromatic.