My Mum : the "more adventurous than she thinks" cook.

My Mum would never called herself an adventurous cook. She's always been reluctant to try foreign food. When I was a teenager, every time I was trying my hand at things like sushis, spring rolls or even fajitas, she would not taste what I had cooked. "Too bizarre"... Well,...
But as I grew up and learned about Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Mexican cuisines, I could see that my mother might be more adventurous than she thinks!

I remember a Chinese dish made of pork round, potatoes, onions and peanuts. Very similar to one of my Mum's favourite comfort food dish.
Another one is a Korean dish called Galbi Jim : very similar to her braised beef with carrots.
And that's just 2 examples.


So today I will share with you one of her favourite (and one of mine too) recipes: a roasted Chicken with a creamy mild curry sauce. It's based on a bechamel sauce with added mild curry powder.

 

Ingredients : 

• A whole free range Chicken (around 1.6kg is perfect for 4/5 people)
• 2 onions
• A dozen of garlic cloves
• Olive oil
• Salt, ground pepper.

For the curry sauce : 

• 50g lightly salted butter
• 50g flour
• approx 500ml milk
• 5 Tbsp mild curry powder (I like to use the Schwartz one has it is well balanced and not too spicy.)

The roasted chicken :

1. Preheat your oven at 220°C.
2. Cut the onions into really thick slices and then place them in a large roasting pan. They will act as a bed for the chicken.
3. Massage the chicken with olive oil and them season with salt and pepper.
4. Place it onto the onion slices.
5. Add 200ml of water in the pan to stop the onions from burning.
6. After the first half hour, add the garlic cloves, without peeling them and pour a little more water if it dried out.
7. Cook for approx 1h20 or until the chicken is well cooked.

The curry sauce : 

1. In a saucepan, start to make a roux by melting the butter over medium high heat.
2. When the butter has melted, add all the flour at once and work the mixture with a wooden spoon until it's a little dry.
3.  Pour the milk in the saucepan, little by little and mix with a whisk to combine.
4.  When the bechamel starts to thicken, season with the curry powder. Be generous! It needs to turn a bright yellow colour. I sometimes add a little turmeric powder too for a brighter colour.

You can now carve the chicken and serve it with long grain rice and the delicious curry sauce!

I think that whatever part of the world you're from, a comforting dish will always have the same main features : it's tasty, it's simple, it was cooked long enough to make your whole house smell delicious, and it surely has a bit of your Mum's touch in it.

Enjoy !



You can find other style of curries recipes on Schwartz'website.