The creamy mushroom sauce is the hero of this chicken dish.
CHICKEN is very much a staple on our table; it is relatively inexpensive insofar as meat goes and one of the most versatile in terms of what can be done with it. This is a lovely recipe that is easy to make – and easy to tweak.
The versatility that comes with this means you can add anything from bacon pieces to chilli, whatever takes your fancy, or happens to be in your pantry. But as a base recipe, it tastes great just as it is.
I use honey to give it a little sweetening to balance the peppery taste we like, but this is purely a personal choice, it tastes just as good without it.
Crusty fresh bread is the ideal way to mop up the sauce.
Chicken in sweet creamy mushroom sauce
Chicken:
500g selection of small chicken drumsticks and wings
1/2 tsp salt
Black pepper to taste
1/4 C flour
1 Tbsp unsalted butter
Butter for frying
Mushroom sauce:
- Tbsp butter
300g button mushrooms, sliced
- minced garlic cloves
1/4 C dry white wine
1/2 C chicken or vegetable stock
- Tbs honey (optional)
- C thickened or heavy cream
1/2 C parmesan cheese, finely grated
- Tbsp chives, finely sliced (optional) – sub parsley, green onions, for garnish.
Instructions
Sprinkle each piece of chicken with salt and pepper, then put flour in a small plastic bag and shake each piece of chicken until coated. Shake off excess.
Melt butter in a large non-stick frying pan over medium high heat. Add chicken and cook each side for two-and-a-half minutes until golden brown and just cooked through. Remove from pan, cover and keep warm.
In the same frying pan, add butter from sauce ingredients and increase heat to high. Add mushrooms and cook for four minutes, stirring well, until starting to turn golden brown on the edges.
To this, add the garlic and a pinch of salt and pepper, and continue cooking for another minute until both garlic and mushrooms are golden. Remove from the pan.
Add white wine to the pan for 30 seconds, letting it bubble and steam, scraping the bottom of the pan, until wine is mostly evaporated and the alcohol smell is gone.
Add chicken stock, cook vigorously for a minute so it mostly evaporates. Then add cream, honey, lower heat to medium and simmer for two minutes until it has reduced and thickened slightly.
Stir in parmesan, taste and add more salt and pepper if needed. Add back in the mushrooms.
Return chicken to sauce for 30 seconds (to warm through slightly.) Garnish with chives and serve as-is in the pan, for people to help themselves (or transfer to serving platter, if you prefer). Alternatively, serve a portion of chicken onto each plate, spoon sauce over and garnish with more chives.
