Poulet aux champignons

Yield:  2 servings

 

Ingredients

2 boneless, skin-on chicken thighs or 4 breast quarters or 2 breast halves

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon ground white pepper

¼ cup flour

2 tablespoons peanut or grapeseed oil

 

Mushrooms

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

2 cups thinly sliced champignons de Paris (Paris mushrooms – button caps) (or cremini, oyster, chanterelles, or baby portobello) (approximately 8 ounces fresh mushrooms)

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 cup chicken stock or ¾ cup chicen stock and ¼ cup white wine

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, kept cold in the icebox until used

 

Garnish:

Sprig of Italian leaf parsley per serving platter

1 green/spring onion top (green part only) cut into thin rings

 

 

Directions

 

Preheat oven to 400° F.

 

Place flour in a bowl.

 

Add salt and pepper to flour and stir to mix.

 

Dredge chicken pieces in flour and place on a clean plate.

 

Heat a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat.

 

When the skillet is hot, add oil, lift skillet from burner and swirl to distribute oil over the bottom.

 

When oil shimmers, place chicken skin-side down in skillet and fry until browned, about 5 minutes.

 

Turn chicken over using tongs and brown on that side.

 

Remove chicken from skillet with tongs and place in clean casserole dish.

 

Place in oven and bake until the chicken reaches 165°F and the juices run clear. The length of time will depend upon whether dark meat (thighs take longer to cook) or white meat (breasts cook faster) were used, the size of the chicken pieces, the heat of the burner and the length of time spent browning the pieces.

 

Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in the skillet.

 

Add sliced mushrooms and sprinkle with ground nutmeg.

 

Saute until the mushrooms start to sweat and shrink. Use a spatula to turn the mushrooms to avoid breaking them.

 

When mushrooms are cooked, place in a bowl, leaving any liquid in the pan.

 

Add chicken stock or wine to the skillet.

 

Bring the chosen liquid to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until reduced by half (½ cup remains).

 

Remove the skillet from the heat.

 

Drain any liquid from the casserole dish containing the chicken into the skillet.

 

Whisk the remaining 3 tablespoons of cold butter into the liquid in the skillet. The butter must be cold, melted into the liquid and whisked to thoroughly incorporate.

 

Add mushrooms to the sauce and heat.

 

Use a slotted spoon to place the mushroom on the bottom of the serving platter or distribute evenly between two plates.

 

Place the chicken on top of the mushrooms.

 

Spoon the sauce over the chicken and mushrooms.

 

Garnish and serve.