Seared Chicken in a decadent mushroom cream sauce. A slight riff on the classic Barefoot Contessa recipe, Chicken with Morels from Barefoot in Paris. This uses dried shiitakes and is one of my favorite dinners of all time!
I made this dinner for some dear friends last night, and tripled the recipe to feed 18 people. It is a fail-proof dish that makes everyone happy, and sits in the refrigerator so you can make it ahead and reheat when everyone arrives. I served it with a green salad and rice, the simplest of sides as this dish is the standout star that needs nothing to back it up. This would make a great meal for a ski weekend getaway too!
A couple of ingredient notes – the recipe calls for clarified butter, which you can either make (cook the butter until foamy in a pot, let it cool, and pour off the top dark rich butter, leaving the milk solids at the bottom of the pot) or purchase – Trader Joe’s sells it for $5 for 8 oz. You can also use a combination of 1/2 butter and 1/2 olive oil to reduce the smoke point, which is the whole reason for using clarified butter. Also, the recipe calls for Madiera wine, but a dry marsala or dry sherry works just as well.
This recipe first caught my attention about 15 years ago when I saw it in an episode of the Barefoot Contessa where all of her dishes were made 5 days in advance! This is one of the BEST make ahead meals I’ve ever had and it never disappoints.
Chicken with Mushrooms
Ingredients
- 1 oz dried mushrooms - any variety works, I like Shitake
- 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- kosher salt and black pepper
- 1/2 cup flour, for dredging
- 1/4 cup clarified butter (see Notes below)
- 1/3 cup chopped shallots
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup Madiera wine (a dry marsala or sherry works too)
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 8 oz creme fraiche
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice
Instructions
- Soak the dried mushrooms in 3 cups very hot water, for 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- After the mushrooms have soaked and are reconstituted, lift them carefully from the water, leaving any grit or dirt at the bottom of the bowl. Chop finely, and set aside for use later in the sauce.
- Season the chicken breasts generously with salt and pepper, then dredge through flour and shake off the excess. Melt 2 Tbsp of the clarified butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add three of the chicken breasts to the pan, cooking about 4-5 minutes a side until golden and seared, but not fully cooked through. Remove to an oven proof casserole dish, and cook the remaining chicken in a second batch. You don't want to crowd the pan, to ensure a golden sear on the chicken. Move the chicken to the casserole dish.
- In the same pan add the rest of the clarified butter and cook the shallots, garlic, and chopped reserved mushrooms, stirring over medium high heat for about 5 minutes. Pour in the Madeira wine, and reduce to about 1/2, cooking for about 4 minutes. Add the creme fraiche, cream, and lemon juice, along with 1 teaspoon kosher salt and 3/4 tsp black pepper. Boil until the mixture starts to thicken, about 5-10 minutes. Pour the sauce over the chicken and bake for 15 minutes until the chicken is fully cooked through.
- This dish can be made fully in advance, refrigerated, and then reheated at 325 degrees for about 25 minutes. It can sit for several days before reheating, and often tastes better this way.
Notes
