Creamy Porcini Chicken

Recipe:

Ingredient Notes:

• Chicken. You can use any part of the chicken, including breasts or thighs. Breasts cook faster, but dark meat stays juicier. My top choice is boneless, skinless chicken thighs.
• Mushrooms. Fresh or frozen porcini both work well (just thaw the frozen ones beforehand). During the season, feel free to use chanterelles for their unique, slightly fruity flavor. The simplest substitute is common button mushrooms (champignons). While they are less intense than porcini, the dish will still be delicious.
• Cream. Since the base of the sauce is stock or broth, you’ll need heavy cream (at least 30% fat) to achieve the right richness and consistency.
• Stock or broth. Use chicken or vegetable stock or broth. I highly recommend not substituting it with water, as you’ll lose out on depth of flavor, even with the cream added.
• Onions. Regular yellow onions work perfectly here. There’s no need for shallots or other sweet varieties in this particular dish.
• Mustard. This adds a subtle piquant accent. Use Dijon mustard, moutarde, or similar. If you prefer a milder mustard flavor and a bit of extra texture, try whole-grain mustard.
• Worcestershire sauce. This is your source of umami, making the overall flavor more complete and complex. If you don’t have it, a splash of soy sauce (not dark!) will help round out the sauce’s finish, though the flavor profile will differ slightly.

Let’s start cooking!

Cut the chicken into small pieces. Finely chop the onion and garlic. If using fresh porcini mushrooms, cut them into cubes. If using frozen mushrooms, defrost them and squeeze out some of the water. If using button mushrooms, slice them.

In a deep, thick-bottomed pan over high heat, heat a couple tablespoons of vegetable oil. Brown the chicken on all sides.

Transfer to a plate.

In the same pan over high heat, sauté the mushrooms until caramelized. Add the mushrooms to the chicken.

Reduce the heat to medium, drain the fat from the pan, and add the butter. Melt the butter and add the onions. Sauté, stirring frequently, for 3-4 minutes until the onions are translucent and golden. While cooking, scrape off any caramelized bits from the bottom of the pan.

Add the garlic and cook for another half a minute. Then, add the flour and cook for about another minute, stirring constantly.

While stirring vigorously, pour in the slightly warmed stock. Stir until smooth. Lightly season with salt, then add the mustard and Worcestershire sauce.

Add the chicken and mushrooms.

Bring to a boil, then simmer with the lid on over low heat for about 15 minutes.

Remove the lid and add the cream.

Stir and season with salt, if necessary. Bring to a boil, and turn off the heat.

Serve.

Enjoy!

This Creamy Porcini Chicken recipe was checked, prepared and approved by Chef Tatyana Nazaruk - author of FlavorIt.com.
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