Chicken St. John

June 24: The Nativity of St. John the Baptist

St. John the Baptist is the patron saint of Islander’s family and paternal relatives. Even her brother chose “Juan” for his Spanish confirmation name. For our blog recipe post, we have made Chicken St. John to celebrate the birthday of the cousin of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This is a hearty stew with a rich and creamy gravy which we eat with Honig-Johannisbrot Laib (Loaf with St. John’s Bread and Honey), also a blog recipe post, to complete our feast day dinner.

Recipe

(Adapted from Cooking with the Saints by Ernst Schuegraf)

For the broth

• 2 pounds of boneless and skinless chicken breasts
• 4 cups water
• 1 tablespoon salt
• ½ cup celery, chopped
• 3 tablespoons carrots, chopped
• 3 tablespoons onion, minced
• 1 parsley sprig
• 1 bay leaf
• 4 peppercorns

Directions

Trim excess fat from the chicken breasts and cut into large chunks. Place them in a large pot with the rest of the ingredients listed above and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat and simmer for an hour. Let the chicken cool in the broth and set aside. Strain the liquid, reserving a cup of broth for the gravy.

For the gravy

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1 cup broth (from above)
• 1 cup heavy cream
• ½ cup Cheddar cheese, grated
• 1 teaspoon salt
• pinch each of rosemary and basil

Directions

In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium low heat. Stir in the flour, then add the strained broth and cream. Mix well until thickened.  Add the cheese and stir until melted and smooth. Sprinkle with salt and rosemary and basil. Prepare the garnish.

For the garnish

• 1 cup mushrooms, sliced
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup almonds, toasted
• 1 avocado, sliced

Directions

Saute the mushrooms in butter. Place on the bottom layer of a baking dish and top with the chicken and sauce. Cover with foil and bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, toast the almonds by heating them in a skillet until brown. Slice the avocados. After the chicken is baked, remove from the oven and uncover (take care to avoid escaping steam). Top with almonds and avocado. Bake for 10 more minutes, uncovered. Remove from the oven. Serve the chicken pieces with avocado slices on plates and ladle the gravy over them with some almonds. Garnish with parsley.