recipes · rice

Chicken blanquette with rice

The French family classic: browned chicken simmered with carrots and herbs, in a creamy lemon sauce with mushrooms, over white rice.

Browned chicken in a creamy sauce with carrots and mushrooms, next to a dome of white rice
This image was made with AI. It's not a photo of my own cooking.
  • About 1 h
  • ≈ 700 kcal a portion
  • 33 g protein a portion

Portions

Dinner for 2, plus 2 lunch boxes

4

≈ €10 for 4 portions rough supermarket prices in Europe, cupboard basics not counted

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Ingredients

The chicken and its broth

  • 500 g chicken (thighs or breast), in large pieces
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 2 carrots, in chunks
  • 3 garlic cloves
  • parsley, thyme and 2 bay leaves
  • 1.5 l boiling water
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • salt and pepper

The mushrooms

  • 150 g mushrooms, sliced
  • 10 g butter (a knob)

The sauce

  • 40 g butter
  • 30 g flour
  • 450 ml of the chicken broth
  • 80 ml cream
  • ½ lemon, juiced

To serve

  • 300 g rice

Method

  1. 1

    Brown the chicken

    Heat half the olive oil in a frying pan and brown the chicken pieces on all sides. Set them aside.

  2. 2

    Build the pot

    In a large pot, cook the onion in the rest of the oil over medium heat until soft. Add the browned chicken, the carrots, the garlic, the herbs, salt and pepper.

  3. 3

    Simmer

    Cover with the 1.5 litres of boiling water and simmer gently for 30 to 35 minutes, skimming off any foam.

  4. 4

    Cook the rice

    While it simmers, cook the rice the way you usually do.

  5. 5

    Brown the mushrooms

    Cook the mushrooms in the knob of butter for about 5 minutes, until golden.

  6. 6

    Keep the broth

    Lift the chicken and carrots out of the pot. Strain the broth and keep 450 ml for the sauce.

  7. 7

    Make the sauce

    Melt the 40 g of butter, whisk in the flour for 1 to 2 minutes without letting it colour, then whisk in the hot broth little by little. Let it bubble gently for 5 minutes, until it coats a spoon. Stir in the cream and the lemon juice, and season.

  8. 8

    Bring it together

    Put the chicken, carrots and mushrooms back into the sauce and warm them through for 5 minutes. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve over the rice.

Tip: The broth left over is a ready-made stock: freeze it for a soup or a risotto.

This is my version of a recipe I love from Deli Cuisine on YouTube.

Calories, protein and cost are rough estimates for one portion, to help you plan, not exact figures.

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