Chicken In a Parcel Recipe!

Chicken In a Parcel Recipe

I am busy. Really busy, actually. A 60+ hour working week and a family mean my time is limited, so if a meal requires little prep and cooking time it is right up my street! This little rascal fits the bill perfectly – my chicken in a parcel recipe!

Ingredients

• Carrots
• Samphire
• Butter
• Broccoli
• Peas
• Chicken Stock
• Garlic
• Chicken Breast

You also need a roll of foil around 18 inches – 2 feet long. *Disclaimer – this is for the parcel, not to eat. If you do eat the foil, you are a moron.

How-to Guide

The first step is to chop the vegetables so they are roughly uniform in size, meaning they will cook roughly at the same rate. I prefer the vegetables to be in larger chunks so they don’t turn into soft mush – remember the chicken breast has to cook through, so to ensure the vegetables aren’t over-cooked keep them in larger chunks.

Once the vegetables are in chunks, roll out the foil and pile them on. Put the full chicken breast on as well and place the ingredients towards one end. This is to help with the folding later on.

With the food in place, make your parcel by folding the foil over the ingredients. Roll the sides in a few times, leaving an opening at the top.

When the parcel is folded, mix up the chicken stock. You don’t need much water – if the stock is too watery it is bland, also the stock needs to be contained in the parcel. I suggest 200mls of stock.

Add the stock to the parcel in the hole you left. Pour carefully as it will be hot. Also, if you pour too quickly you risk mis-shaping the parcel, causing leaks!

When the stock has been added, fold the opening over, making sure it is sealed all around. Place on an oven tray (this will catch the liquids in case there is a leak) and bake in the oven at 200 degrees Celsius for 30 minutes. When the parcel is in the oven it will inflate due to the steam.

When you remove the parcel from the oven after 30 minutes, be careful. My advice is to put the parcel on the plate or wide bowl you wish to serve the food on, then open it so the gravy will go nowhere but the plate!

The finished meal…

As I mentioned earlier, this is a quick and easy way to make a really tasty, healthy meal. The prep time is minimal and the cooking takes 30 minutes. By keeping the stock in the parcel with the meal as it cooks, you lose no vitamins and minerals and keep the meat moist as it cooks – happy days!

Enjoy!