Alfred Solti

Alfred’s recipes reflect his heritage, which includes German and Hungarian. He says, ‘We often cook this, especially in winter, using left over roast chicken and gherkins we’ve made from excess cucumbers from summer. For a ‘saucier’ pasta version, I add a little of the hot pasta water, as well the cooked pasta to the pan, and stir through.’

olive oil
25g unsalted butter
200g leftover roast chicken
½ onion finely diced
1 garlic clove finely diced
100g button mushrooms (any mushroom will do), thickly sliced
75ml brandy
1 gherkin finely chopped
pinch smoked paprika
100ml sour cream
spiralli pasta cooked, or steamed rice to serve
finely chopped parsley for topping

1. Heat olive oil and butter in wide frypan. Over medium heat, cook onions and garlic until soft.
2. Add mushrooms, cook 1 minute, then add brandy, cook to burn off excess alcohol (30–40 secs.)
3. Add gherkin, paprika and sour cream, reduce sauce a little for about 5 minutes, stirring over gentle heat.
4. Add chicken, stir through to warm, season, serve with pasta or rice and sprinkle parsley over.

Serves 2

Note: you can use chicken breast strips instead of left over chicken, sauté in heated oil/butter until browned, set aside/cover and continue from step 1, adding the chicken as per step 4.