Light Chicken Waterzooi

📝 Ingredients

• 600 g chicken breast (4 fillets, about 150 g each)
• 800 g waxy potatoes (about 6 medium)
• 2 leeks (about 350 g once trimmed)
• 3 carrots (about 300 g)
• 2 celery sticks (about 120 g)
• 1 brown onion (about 100 g)
• 15 g unsalted butter
• 2 chicken stock cubes + 1 l hot water
• 1 tsp dried thyme + 1 bay leaf
• 2 egg yolks + 100 ml light single cream, 15% fat
• 15 g fresh flat-leaf parsley
• Salt, black pepper, nutmeg

🍴 Utensils

• Large casserole dish with lid
• Peeler
• Chopping board and knife
• Bowl
• Whisk
• Ladle

📖 Steps

1. Halve the leeks lengthways and rinse them under cold water, separating the leaves to wash out any soil. Slice into 5 mm half-moons (white and tender green parts). Peel the carrots, cut them into thin sticks along with the celery, and finely chop the onion.
2. Peel the potatoes and cut them into large 3 cm cubes. Keep them in a bowl of cold water while you cook the vegetables, to stop them discolouring.
3. Melt the butter in a large casserole dish over a medium-low heat. Add the leeks, onion, carrots and celery and sweat them for 8 min, stirring often, until soft and translucent but not coloured: the broth should stay pale.
4. Dissolve the stock cubes in the hot water and pour over the vegetables. Add the drained potatoes, thyme and bay leaf. Bring to a simmer over a high heat, then turn down to medium and cook at a gentle bubble for 5 min.
5. Lower the whole chicken breasts into the broth: they should be submerged (add a little hot water if needed). Cover and simmer gently over a low heat for 15 to 18 min, until the chicken is white all the way through and the potatoes are tender when pierced with the tip of a knife.
6. Lift the chicken out onto a board, cut it into 2 cm pieces or shred it with a fork, then cover with a plate to keep warm. Remove the bay leaf and finely chop the parsley.
7. In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the cream. Pour in a ladleful of hot broth in a thin stream, whisking constantly: this gently warms the yolks and stops them cooking into lumps when they hit the pot.
8. Turn the heat down to the lowest setting, pour the mixture into the pot, stirring gently, and heat for 2 to 3 min without ever letting it boil, until the broth lightly coats the back of a spoon. Return the chicken, season with salt and pepper and grate over a little nutmeg.
9. Serve immediately in shallow bowls with plenty of broth and sprinkle with the chopped parsley. To reheat leftovers, keep the heat low: an egg-thickened broth that boils turns grainy.