Chicken in Mushroom, White Wine & Cream Sauce

Mushrooms are incredibly versatile, delicious, and super nutritious. They are a great source of fiber, potassium, antioxidants, vitamin D and B while being very low in calories.

Mushrooms can add flavor and complexity to everything from pizza to salads. Mushrooms are very easy to find and in your better groceries you can find a great variety of mushrooms as well. They are easy to cook and making a simple mushroom cream sauce for pork or fowl is also an easy task.

Stop reaching for the can of cream of mushroom and add some real flavor and nutrition to your dish.

For this dish it is important to choose chicken breast on the bone as they will cook slower as desired and the bones will actually add a great deal of flavor to the finished dish.

Ingredients for Chicken in Mushroom, White Wine & Cream Sauce

• 4 chicken breast halves, bone and skin on
• seasoned flour (for dredging chicken)
• 4 cups mixed mushrooms
• 1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 2 medium shallots, diced
• 3 cloves garlic
• thyme (teaspoon dried or tablespoon fresh)
• 5 oz. white wine (dry white, little oak)
• 2/3 cup chicken stock
• 1/2 cup heavy cream

Method

First, roast the mushrooms. Preheat the oven to 400F. Place the clean and rough chopped mushrooms (you want big, bite-size pieces) in a large bowl along with 1/3 cup of olive oil, two whole garlic cloves smashed, and salt and pepper. Toss to coat and then place on a sheet pan or shallow baking dish. Roast in the oven for 30 minutes.

Dredge the chicken pieces in the seasoned flour. Over medium-high heat in a large Dutch oven sauté until both sides are golden brown. Remove to a plate and cover with foil. Add the diced shallot to the pot and sauté until soft and lightly colored. Add the remaining smashed garlic clove along with the thyme and stir until combined and fragrant. Add the white wine and deglaze the pot. Boil until the wine is reduced by half and then add the stock followed by the cream. Bring to a boil and then return the chicken to the pot (bone side down) along with the roasted mushrooms. Bring it to a low simmer and then cover for 25 minutes.

Remove the chicken along with half of the mushrooms to a heated plate or pan and cover with foil. Using an immersion blender or standard blender puree the sauce and mushroom mix. Serve the chicken and mushroom on a warm plate with a generous dose of sauce.

A Note on the Mushrooms: If you are short on time you can skip the step of roasting the mushrooms and simply sauté them in the pot. However, it’s better to roast the mushrooms as the flavor is so much more intense and wonderful. You can also double up on the mushrooms and save the roasted mushrooms for a salad, omelette, any number of dishes in the coming days.

Serve alongside potatoes, noodles, or polenta.

Wine pairing: You want a rich but not overly fruity red with low to moderate tannins and preferably a wine with a subtle earthy note. Good choices are: Côtes du Rhône, Italian Sangiovese, California Petite Sirah, Barbaresco, or Rioja.