Today’s recipe has two family favourites rolled into one – chicken a la king and parsley pancakes. Savoury or sweet, sprinkled with cinnamon sugar or drizzled with syrup, pancakes are a huge favourite in our home, but especially so in winter. My mother called it soup and pancake day.
Mother’s are expert jugglers of things. Let’s face it, coming up with delicious food that the whole family enjoys, day after day is no easy feat. As a homage to mothers, I’ve decided to revisit food from my childhood. In the month of May I’ll be reminiscing about South Africa’s favourite baked pudding, flipping dozens of pancakes and transforming meagre ingredients into family feasts, a skill our mums had the knack of. In addition to whipping up the easiest milk tart ever, I’ll be making a syrup-soaked orange cake that’s been in the family for generations.
For the chicken a la king parsley pancakes, I recommend making double. As we all know, the first couple of pancakes are purely for quality testing. Too thin, too thick, too lacey-edged, you know? By the fourth pancake, it’ll be just right. Making the batter the night before is a good idea. It gives the mixture a chance to rest and makes for the fluffiest pancakes. The chicken a la king filling can also be served with tagliatelle pasta or steamed rice.
Chicken a la king parsley pancakes
Parsley Pancakes
- 1 cup flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted or the same of vegetable oil
- 1 cup (250ml) milk
- 1/2 cup (125ml) water
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped flat leaf parsley
White sauce
- 2 tablespoons (30g) butter
- 2 1/2 tablespoons (40g) flour
- 3 1/2 cups (875ml) milk
- 1/2 cup cream cheese
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- salt and pepper, to taste
Chicken a la king
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 brown onion, diced
- 250g (1 punnet, about 2 cups) button mushrooms, sliced
- 1 green pepper, deseeded and sliced
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- zest and juice of half a lemon
- 2 cups roast chicken, cut into bite size pieces
- sliced or grated mozzarella cheese, for the topping
- a handful of parmesan cheese
- chopped parsley
- Start by making the batter for the pancakes. Place the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl.
- Add the butter, milk and water and whisk to combine. Set aside for at least 30 minutes or better yet, overnight. When you’re ready to cook the pancakes, stir through the parsley.
- Heat a pan until hot and cook the pancakes until golden on both sides.
- To make the white sauce, melt the butter in saucepan. Add the flour and whisk to combine into a smooth roux. Pour the milk in slowly, whisking all the while until the sauce is smooth and thickened. Add the cream cheese, Dijon mustard, salt and pepper.
- For the chicken a la king, heat the olive oil in a pan and sauté the onion until softened. Add the mushrooms and cook on a high heat until all the water has evaporated and the mushrooms take on some colour.
- Add the green peppers and cook for about 5 minutes. Season with oregano, lemon zest and juice, salt and pepper.
- Reserve 1/2 cup of white sauce, pour the remaining sauce in with the mushrooms and add the chicken pieces. Simmer on a low heat for several minutes then set aside to cool slightly.
- Fill the pancakes with the chicken a la king and roll up tightly.
- Place the filled pancakes in a greased baking dish and pour over the reserved white sauce. Finally, top the pancakes with mozzarella and place under a grill until warmed through and the top is bubbling and golden.
- Finally, scatter the pancakes with freshly grated parmesan and parsley.
For all the sweet pancake fans, I’m sure these brown butter wholemeal pancakes are perfect for sweet fillings.
6 Comments. Leave new
Thank you for this amazing and easy dinner recipe Di. I made this for my husband and I last night for dinner and it was delish.
Even enough left over for lunch today – whoop whoop!
I must admit, it’s been too long since we’ve eaten this retro dish. Glad to here there was leftover spoils. It also makes a delicious filling for chicken pot pie.
While looking up a new Chicken All King recipe I came across your South African Family Favorites. What caught my eye was the African. Our Priest is from Kenya. For our American Thanksgiving he was coming to dinner, so instead of making the traditional Thanksgiving meal I made some Kenyan dishes. They would’ve tasted better if I had not over cooked them, but he was really pleased. As I saw your title i first thought of our Priest for another dish for him. On your blog I found that you are from South Africa. My Englisk/Irish/German Grandmother was born there. I would love to follow you for recipes she ate as a child. I only remember her preparing great food that was just regular in my child’s mind. After making the Kenyan dishes I am interest in more. Having married a part Mexican man that was the food I cooked for the family along with standard American food. I would love to hear from you on private post so you could tell me about my Grandmother’s Country. Grandmother past in 1974, so it would be a step back in history.
Hi there Cynthia. What a fascinating story. I’m so glad you landed on my page. South Africa has without a doubt, one of the most flavour-rich and diverse food cultures. I’d be happy to share some of our most popular dishes with you. In the meantime, there’s plenty of recipes on the blog to help get you started. Bobotie is one of the great Cape Malay specialities. You can find a meat and vegetarian version in the blog archives. Malva pudding and peppermint crisp pudding are two iconic desserts that’ve graced many South African family celebrations.
Hello
Could you please explain what the b and br stand for in the list of ingredients. Really would like to make these, but I don’t understand what to do with the b and br… with grateful thanks. Bettina
Hi Bettina. I’m so sorry for the confusion here. I’ve recently had to transfer my entire blog content onto a new format and there have been a couple of issues arising from this. We’re working on correcting the snags. I will have this recipe sorted for you by tomorrow. I’d love to know when you’ve made them. All the best Di