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Chicken liver

Circassian Chicken in Sour Cream Sauce (Libzhe)

Chicken simmered in this sauce turns out absolutely delicious! Libzhe (also spelled libzha) is a traditional Circassian dish — the word "libzhe" simply means "food." Today we're making Jed Libzhe: chicken braised in a sour cream and flour sauce. It's a family favorite. No celebration is complete without it, and it's just as welcome at an everyday dinner. Libzhe is traditionally served with pasta — a firm pudding of cornmeal and semolina that's cooked, cooled, and sliced like bread.

Ira Tezina

Recipe author

Composition / ingredients

Servings:

Whole chicken

1.6

Water (approximate amount)

0.5

Onion (1 for the broth, 2 for the sauce)

Garlic (1 clove for the broth, 3 cloves for the marinade)

All-purpose flour (heaping)

Butter

Sour cream (20% fat)

Salt

Ground black pepper

Fresh herbs

Translation table of volumetric measures

Nutrients and energy value of the composition of the recipe

By weight of the composition:

Proteins 42 % 11 g

Fats 50 % 13 g

Carbohydrates 8 % 2 g

170 kcal

GI: 100 / 0 / 0

Cooking method

Step 1:

Cut the cleaned chicken into serving pieces, rinse, and place in a large pot. Add salt, pepper, 1 chopped onion, and 1 crushed garlic clove, then pour in enough water to cover the chicken. Simmer over very low heat for 1 hour, skimming off the foam now and then. In the Caucasus families are large, so the chicken is traditionally cut into small pieces — that way there's enough for everyone, even the unexpected guests!
Step 2:

Using a slotted spoon, transfer the cooked chicken pieces to a deep bowl, and strain the broth.
Step 3:

Mince 3 garlic cloves, add them to the chicken, and toss gently. Let the chicken marinate in the garlic for about 1 hour. You can do this ahead — the longer it sits, the more fragrant it gets!
Step 4:

Meanwhile, slice 2 onions into half-moons. Melt the butter in a deep skillet or saucepan and cook the onion until golden. (You could easily use twice as much onion — it would only make the dish better!)
Step 5:

Sprinkle the onion with the flour and cook for another 2 minutes, stirring.
Step 6:

Add the broth to the pan a little at a time, stirring gently, until the sauce reaches the consistency you like, and cook for 2-3 minutes. Then stir in the sour cream and cook for another 2-3 minutes over low heat, stirring occasionally. At this point, taste the sauce for salt and pepper and adjust as needed.
Step 7:

Add the chicken pieces to the sauce and stir to coat. Cover and warm through for about 5 minutes.
Step 8:

Serve hot, sprinkled with fresh herbs.

Tonight I'm having Jed Libzhe with cornmeal pasta, and it's so good you'll want seconds and thirds! And since the chicken can be boiled and marinated in garlic ahead of time, you only need to make the sauce and warm everything through before guests arrive — which makes this dish a real lifesaver.