Thursday, January 29, 2009

Mushrooms


When I was a child, a few decades ago, there were some foods that really did not like.
Some of them where my mom’s favorites and I so wanted to please her that I would eat them any way, swallow them whole not to taste them, and tell her I love them.
Crazy!!!
One of those foods where mushrooms. I remember summers by the beach and my mother running out after a rain storm to see if there were any wild mushrooms around.
She could always find them and inevitably end up in an omelette.
At some point in my life, I have no idea when, I started liking mushrooms and now I really, really love them.
I while ago I found this recipe in the BBC Good Food web site and decided to give it a try. It turned out delicious.
I didn’t post it for a long time because I did not like the picture I took, but Ilva from Lucullian Delights, inspired me to share it any way. It is truly a nice recipe.

Pan-fried chicken in mushroom sauce:

2 tbsp sunflower oil
6 large, free-range chicken legs , halved at the joint so you have 6 thighs and 6 drumsticks
700ml/1¼ pts chicken stock
50g butter
1 onion , finely diced
400g mixed wild mushrooms (about a pound)
300ml/½ pt dry white wine
284ml pot double cream (1 1/4 cup)

Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan. Fry the thighs for 8-10 mins, skin side only, until golden brown, then transfer to a casserole dish. Fry the drumsticks for about 5 mins each side and add them to the thighs.
Pour the stock over the chicken legs in the casserole. There should be enough stock to just cover the chicken, if not add a little water. Bring stock to the boil and cover, leaving lid slightly ajar. Cook at just below simmering point for 30-35 mins until chicken is cooked.
While chicken is simmering, drain oil from the pan. Heat the butter in pan and add onion. Sweat onion for 5 mins until soft, but not coloured. Turn up the heat, add the mushrooms, then fry for 3 mins until they soften and start to smell wonderful. Pour over the white wine, raise the heat to maximum and boil rapidly for 6-8 mins until reduced by two-thirds. Turn off the heat and leave until chicken has cooked. Once chicken legs are cooked, strain stock into pan with the onion, mushrooms and white wine, bring back to the boil and reduce again by two-thirds until it is thick and syrupy. Pour in double cream,
bring it to the boil, season if you want, then pour it over chicken. Heat chicken through in the sauce for 2-3 mins then turn off the heat and leave for a few mins before serving. This is such an aromatic and beautiful looking dish you should serve it straight from the casserole with the lid on.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm happy you came to your senses! ;)
Now look at you cooking mushrooms so wonderful!

Gattina Cheung said...

oh please don't worry about the foto and I think it is lovely. And I'm even drooling allover now!

Anonymous said...

LOL! What a nice daughter you are!

Your photo looks terrific. The meal looks enticing. I'd love a taste.

Paz

Paula & Skip said...

YAMMY