It has been a gipsy summer, golden and bright, September day today.
The harvest products could be noticed in abundance in the local stores. We admire their variety and shape and promise each other that now is a perfect time to try new veggies. Parsnip, beets, turnips, Jerusalem artichokes… we always see them, but somehow they never end up on our family menu.
Fateful to our commitment we buy some parsnips today with the good intentions to find a way of cooking it. Once cut, it has this delicate scent reminding of a carrot and celeriac, beautifully fragrant. Belgian has a beautiful tradition, knowing fully well what to do with such vegetables and it is a dish called “stoemp”. It literally is a mash potato, mixed with a boiled veggies. Examples vary, but the most popular seem to be a combination of potato puree with carrots, or with broccoli, or spinach, or any vegetable or fresh salad available at home. The combinations sometimes are surprisingly delightful.
Paying homage to our chosen parsnip, we decide to prepare him as a “stoemp” next to our chicken hotpot. The original recipe for this dish is inspired by one of the favourite classics of Mary Berry and is meant to be prepared with a pheasant, but as the gaming season is not oficially open yet, we are content to replace this noble bird with its more commonly available cousin. Stirring the hotpot and mixing the potato parsnip “stoemp” to smooth perfection we are suddenly surprised how quickly this simple dish is ready to be served on our dining table and delighted to try something new.
The chicken hotpot is so rich and spicy beautifully contrasted with the more delicate flavours of the mash. A perfect dish to tray again, but perhaps with pheasant in the near future.
{Original recipe from Mary Berry}
Ingredients
For the hotpot
- 2 Chicken breasts (chopped in pieces)
- 2 large onions
- 500g chestnut mushrooms
- 300ml cream
- 2tbsp of ground red paprika
- 1tbsp of Demerara sugar
- Fresh parsley
- Salt
- Black pepper
For the potato mash
- 3 large potatoes
- 1 parsnip
- Nob of butter
- 50 ml cream
- Salt
- Black pepper
- Nutmeg
- Fresh parsley
Method
1. For the HotPot. Cut the chicken breast into small cubes and let them brown in butter in a clay pot over medium heat. Season them generously with salt and black pepper. Once beginning to brown, take them out from the pot into a plate and set them aside to rest.
2. In the mean time chop the onions. Add them to the same cooking pot where the chicken has just browed. Let them simmer gently until they change colour to slight brown and become translucent. Add two table spoons of ground red paprika and one table spoon of sugar. Mix well together and then add the cream. Return the chicken into the hot pot and coat it nicely with the onion sauce, letting it cook for a few minutes.
3. Chop the mushrooms and with a little butter cook them in a separate pan until softened and browned. Once ready, add them to the hot pot with the chicken. Season with additional salt and black pepper if needed. Add freshly chopped parsley just before serving.
4. For the Potato Mash: Peal the potatoes and the parsnip and cut them into chunks. Put them into a plastic cooking pot with a little bit of water and place them in a microwave oven to boil for 12 minutes on 750W.
5. Once ready, drain the exes water. Place them in a deep bawl and much them together as smoothly as possible, adding gradually butter and cream. Once the mash has attained the desired smoothness season with nutmeg, black pepper, salt and freshly chopped parsley.
