Chicken with Mushrooms
Seared Chicken Breasts in a decadent mushroom cream sauce
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
This is one of my favorite recipes from the Barefoot Contessa - you can find it in her book, Barefoot in Paris. I have a few changes and tips for making it easier, and cheaper. First, her recipe calls for dried morels (I call it chicken with Mushrooms, her title is Chicken with Morels), which are about $20 an ounce. I have tried all kinds of dried mushrooms, and they all work beautifully - I prefer shiitakes for the texture. Second, the recipe calls for using clarified butter, which is either expensive, or time consuming to make. You can buy Ghee (clarified butter) at Trader Joe's (pictured in the blog post) or use a mix of 2 Tbsp butter and 2 Tbsp olive oil, which will make the smoke point higher. Last - if you can't find Madiera, dry sherry or dry marsala both work great and are a little less expensive. This is a WIN of a recipe - thanks Ina!