Chicken fricassee

Ingredients for 5 servings:

• 1 soup chicken
• 1 bunch of soup vegetables
• 1 can mixed vegetables (peas, carrots, vegetables)
• 1 can of asparagus
• 250 g mushrooms
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp flour
• salt and pepper

Instructions

Working time approx. 45 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 1 hour 15 minutes; Total time approx. 2 hours

Place the chicken and the chopped vegetables in a large pot of boiling salted water and simmer over medium heat. In a regular saucepan, the chicken will need to cook for about 1 hour until tender; in a pressure cooker, it will need about 30 minutes. After cooking, remove the chicken from the pot—do not discard the broth—and let it cool slightly in a colander. Now, pull the meat from the bones and cut into bite-sized pieces. You won’t need the skin or bones anymore. Next, prepare the vegetables: open the cans, drain the contents, and chop the mushrooms. You can also use fresh carrots, but cook them until slightly softened first. Measure out about one liter of the resulting chicken broth and set aside. Melt the butter in a saucepan and whisk in the flour. Before the roux starts to burn, add the measured broth and stir in the roux. Now, add the vegetables and meat to the broth. Add more stock if needed, or thicken the existing broth a bit more with another roux. Season with salt and pepper and simmer for about 15 minutes. I always prepare the rice during this time.