Caroline Taylor is the Executive Chef of Taylor’s Art and Coffee House in the Swan Valley.

Caroline was brought up in the Swan Valley and talked to us recently about her life growing up travelling around WA as well as enjoying everything about the Swan Valley. Learn a little bit more about Caroline and try your hand at a recipe she’s shared with us.

If you’d prefer to dine out than in, enjoy a taste of home-grown goodness from Caroline Taylor’s restaurant and cafe Taylor’s Art & Coffee House and keep supporting local businesses.

While you’re whipping up this tasty meal, learn a little bit more about Caroline and her approach to cooking with WA produce.

Mount Barker Free Range chicken breast with purple congo potatoes and pickled mustard seeds

Prep time: 20 mins, plus brining time

Cook time: 35 mins

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 4 free range Mt Barker Chicken breasts
• 500g Karri Country purple congo potatoes
• 500g Karri Country crimson pearl potatoes
• 4 tbsp pickled mustard seeds
• 300g sour cream or crème fraiche
• 4 lemon myrtle leaves, chiffonade cut (kaffir lime leaves can be used as a substitute)
• 100g roasted sandalwood nuts, shaved (macadamia can be used as a substitute)
• Sea salt and pepper for seasoning
• Olive oil and 100g butter to grill

Tip: Chiffonade is a slicing technique in which leafy greens are cut into long, thin strips.

Brine solution

• Add 90g of sea salt to 3L of water, bring it to a low simmer to dissolve the salt.
• Add 3-4 fresh, whole lemon myrtle leaves and steep until the water cools, then refrigerate.

Add chicken breasts once water is completely chilled, leaves still in, and brine for at least 2 hours or overnight.

Method

• Par-boil the potatoes until a skewer can easily pierce through the skin, drain the water and chill immediately to hold their vibrant hues.
• Preheat oven to 180 degrees, remove chicken from the brine solution, pat dry and season well.
• Heat an oven proof frypan to a medium-high heat then add oil and butter. Before it starts to smoke, add the chicken breasts and grill until golden, roughly 4 minutes. Turn and grill them for a further 2 minutes, spooning the buttery pan juices over the chicken.
• Put the frypan with the chicken into the oven for 15 minutes to finish cooking.

Meanwhile, halve the potatoes lengthways and season with salt. Heat a large fry pan and add some oil. Fry the potatoes flat side down until caramelised, turn and cook for another 2 minutes.

To plate

• Rest the chicken for a couple of minutes then slice into 3 or 4 pieces to serve. Place pink and purple potatoes down the left side of the plate, alternating colours.
• Spoon dollops of sour cream into the spaces between the potatoes.
• Top the sour scream with small spoonfuls of mustard seeds.

Sprinkle shaved sandalwood nuts across the potatoes and follow with the chiffonade cut lemon myrtle leaves to serve.