Personal Taste: Evolving family recipes with Neona Krabacher

Throughout the remainder of the semester, Fritz speaks to local cooks of various abilities about the food they share with their friends, family, and loved ones. This podcast will look at cooking, not only through recipes and kitchen talk, but through the personal histories of people; why they cook, what they cook and who they cook for.

Personal Taste is available to listen to on Spotify and through The NewsHouse website. Transcripts of every episode are also available for access.

Neona’s Chicken, Mashed Potatoes and Green Beans

Ingredients List

2 lbs of chicken breast

4-6 russet potatoes

1 lb of green beans

½ heavy whipping cream

1 cup of unsalted butter

4 fresh rosemary sprigs

3 cloves of garlic

Pepper

Salt

Oregano

Onion powder

Red pepper flakes

Turmeric

Paprika

Recipe:

1. Rinse and peel potatoes, then dice into small cubes.
2. Start boiling water in a large pot with a generous amount of salt. Once the water is boiling, add the diced potatoes.
3.  While the potatoes are boiling, take the chicken out and dice. Heat a large skillet, preferably an iron cast pan, with olive oil.
4. While the pan is heating, start the cream reduction by adding the cream along with the rosemary sprigs and 3 cloves of crushed garlic (unpeeled) to a small pan. Stir until the mixture reduces and begins to thicken.
5. Check potatoes with a fork. Once it’s easy to pierce them, drain the water from the pot and place it back on the stove. Heat the potatoes for another 5-10 minutes on medium heat to remove the moisture. Then transfer the potatoes to a large bowl and mash.
6. Once the reduction is thick, slowly fold it into the mashed potatoes. Set aside the garlic and rosemary sprigs. Optional: add unsalted butter and salt to taste.
7. Add diced chicken to the pan with minced garlic and season with salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, onion powder, paprika and oregano to taste. Add turmeric until the chicken reaches the desired color.
8. Let the chicken cook until it is browned and internally 165 degrees. Then add 4 Tbsp. of unsalted butter. Remove chicken from the pan once finished and set aside, do not clean the pan.
9. Add 1-2 cups of water to the pan (depending on the pan) and cover until the water boils. Then remove the lid.
10. Rinse green beans, then pat dry. Cook the green beans in the same pan as the chicken on medium heat. Season with paprika, salt, pepper and olive oil.
11. Once the water has reduced and the green beans are soft with a slight crunch, remove them from the pan.
12. Add mashed potatoes, chicken and green beans to a plate. Use the rosemary sprigs and garlic from the reduction to garnish the mashed potatoes.