Chicken Fricasee

Chicken Fricassee

This one was a favorite from childhood that I found myself craving this year while I was pregnant. It is now a Padgett family favorite and was just devoured by all at a Padgett/Dickerson dinner. This version is for a family of 4 but can be easily doubled with no difference in taste.

1 4+ lb fryer chicken

1 large onion

4 large stalks celery with leaves

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

2 cups water

1/4 cup allergy free foods expandex modified tapioca starch( this stuff is the no-fail sauce thickener, no more waiting to see if it will thicken, no more funny taste because you had to keep adding to get it right, and no corn)

Cut the chicken in parts, removing skin and as much fat as practicable. Put chicken and chopped celery and onion in a large stock pot with water, salt and pepper. bring to a boil and then lower heat and simmer 45 min. Or until chicken is tender and easy to remove from bones. Pull out the meat and set aside to cool. Skim as much fat as possible from the broth. strain vegetables out and save. measure broth and add water until you have 4 cups of liquid. press vegetables through a strainer into broth. remove about 1/2 cup of the liquid to a small bowl and add tapioca starch. whisk together until completely mixed. Bring the rest of the broth to a boil and as soon as boiling add the tapioca mixture. It should thicken up immediately. As soon as it is reasonably thick shut the heat off and cover. Pull all of the chicken from the bones and add to broth mixture, being sure to pick it over carefully to get all of the bones and yucky bits. When I was a child we served this over mashed potatoes which is still the favorite here but we have also found it works quite well over cooked brown rice( we always use short grain brown rice) when I don't have time to make potatoes as well.