This is the first of a string of Pumpkin Recipes. I was inspired by all those "Pumpkin Spice" offerings you see at this time of year. Only this is not chemically produced, I am using actual pumpkin pie spice blends that i made myself - Enjoy
Ingredients
1 lb. chicken breast, boneless skinless – each breast cut in half
3 cups of chicken stock – unsalted
2 pints of mushrooms of choice, sliced
2 cups of diced pumpkin
4 shallots, chopped
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
4 tablespoons of unsalted butter
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons of unbleached flour
2 tablespoons of corn starch
4 sprigs of fresh thyme, minced, stems removed
handful of fresh Italian Parsley, chopped, stems removed
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground cardamom
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
pinch of ground mace
Salt and Pepper to taste
Avocado Oil
Mashed Veggies
1 cup of diced potatoes
1 cup of diced parsnips
1 cup of diced turnips
1 cup of navy beans, drained and rinsed (canned)
2 cloves of garlic, minced
handful of Italian Parsley, chopped, stems removed
4 cups veggie stock – unsalted
Salt and Pepper to taste
Avocado Oil
Directions
In a deep stock pot add the diced veggies and stock, if the veggies are not submerged add water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until tender.
Place chicken in a deep dish and coat with avocado oil. Then in another dish whisk together ¼ cup of flour, cornstarch and salt and pepper. Now dredge the chicken in the flour mixture and place on a parchment lined backing sheet.
In a large Dutch Oven placed over medium high heat place 2 tablespoons of butter and a drizzle of oil, once melted, stir together. Working in batches, brown the chicken breast on each side and set aside. Repeat until done.
In the same pot add the balance of butter, once melted, add shallots and mushrooms and sauté until soft, about 5 minutes. Remove from pot and set aside, add the pumpkin and sauté until brown on edges. Remove and set aside. Now add the dried spices, chilies and the 2 tablespoons of flour, whisk for 1 minute, then add the stock, whisk until smooth. Simmer for 5 minutes, then return mushroom mixture, pumpkin and chicken to pot, stir, cover, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Check through simmering, if the sauce is too thick add more veggie stock.
While the chicken is simmering, drain and place “mash veggies” in a food processor along with the navy beans, parsley, garlic, season, then pulse and until chunky. Then pulsing slowly add the oil until almost smooth, similar to humus. Set aside
Once Pumpkin is tender and the chicken is cooked through, add fresh herbs, cover and remove from heat, and let stand for 10 minutes.
To plate, place “mashed veggies” then place chicken breast on veggies and spoon over chunky pumpkin sauce.
Enjoy