Chicken in a bag with Baby Leeks, Baby Carrots and Thyme

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For the Steam Oven:  either Viking or Kuppersbusch.

This recipe includes fresh green pepper corns preserved in brine.  (actually these are lovely added to some cream, with a little chicken stock cube and poured over grilled crispy chicken breast).  These peppercorns are less pungent and add a lovely tartiness to the mild chicken breast.

If you can’t get baby leeks or carrots use regular ones and just cut them into just over bite size pieces.

Ingredients:

• 1  Garlic Clove, thinly sliced
• 1 tsp  green peppercorns in brine, drained and rinsed
• 150ml  Dry White Wine
• 6  Baby Leeks cut in 1 inch lengths
• 12  Baby Carrots, trimmed and scrubbed
• 25oz Butter
• 4 Skinned chicken breasts
• 4 Thyme sprigs

Using a sharp knife, score three times along each chicken breast.  Place the chicken in a glass dish with the thyme, garlic, green peppercorns and white wine.  Turn the chicken in the marinade so it is well coated; set aside for 20 minutes, or better still leave in the fridge over night.

Turn your steam oven on at 100°C.  Cut eight pieces of grease proof paper, about 38cm x 28cm.  Place double layers of the paper on the work surface vertically with one short side closest to you
Place one breast on the bottom half of each double thickness of paper.  Top with Leeks and Carrots, and sit a knob of butter on each breast and season with salt and pepper.
Fold the top half of the paper over the chicken and close all but one of the sides.

Carefully spoon any remaining marinade into the parcels, then close the remaining open side, so the parcels are completely sealed.

Transfer the parcels into the perforated trivet tray and place in the Steam Oven.  Steam for 25-30 minutes.  The juices are all contained in the paper so be careful when you are removing the parcels.  Open one parcel to check that non of the juices from the chicken are pink.

This recipe is also very successfully done in your regular Oven, 20-25 mins at 220°C.