How to poach a chicken breast

(and a recipe for Mulligatawny)

The most useful trick I ever learned in a cooking class was how to poach a chicken breast. Here’s what you do:

1. Place a skinless, boneless chicken breast in a pan.
2. Put enough water in the pan to cover the chicken breast.
3. Bring the water in the pan up to the boil over medium-high heat.
4. Simmer for two minutes.
5. Turn the heat off.
6. Let the chicken breast sit in the hot water for twenty minutes.

That’s it. So what do you do with the chicken breast once you’ve got it?

There’s an almost unlimited number of things you can do. You can season it with a little salt and pepper and eat it as-is for dinner. You can chop it up and put it into a green salad. You can chop it up and use it in a stir-fry. You can make chicken salad with it. You can slice it and put it in a sandwich.

Or you can make the following Mulligatawny Soup with it.

Mulligatawny

2 servings

2 Tbsp. butter
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
1 medium apple, peeled, cored, and chopped
1—2 Tbsp. your favorite curry powder
2 cups chicken stock
¼ cup heavy cream
½ lb. poached boneless, skinless chicken breast chopped into ½ inch cubes (see above)
cooked rice (optional)
salt and pepper
parsley for garnish

1. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
2. Saute the onion and apple in the butter until the onion is transparent and the apple has softened. Do not brown.
3. Add the curry powder and stir for about thirty seconds.
4. Add the chicken stock to the pot, stir, and simmer for about twenty minutes.
5. Stir the chicken into the pot.
6. Stir the cream into the pot.
7. Bring the soup up to the boil and allow it to boil for about 1 minute.
8. Put the soup into bowls, add a scoop of rice, and garnish with parsley. Salt and pepper to taste.

If the rice is used and served with a mixed green salad, this soup is good for a whole meal. I suggest you try making this soup with a single tablespoon of curry powder and if it’s too mild for your taste add a second tablespoon in step 3 the next time you make it. It’s supposed to be rather delicate. Curry powders and tastes vary.