A few days back I posted to you guys my recipe for "Poached Chicken with Mushroom Sauce" - It was quite a complex and a potentially expensive dish so today I wanted to provide to you a recipe, inspired my a Jamie Oliver dish for a Chicken and Mushroom Bake. From the last dish I had left a Banana Shallot (I always buy two just incase something hideous has happened to one of them), a breast of Chicken, Parsley, Wine and Chestnut and White Mushrooms. So without dipping
into to my store-cupboard again too much (well, not the dried Mushrooms again, I feel I need to save them for another dish) I wanted to make something healthy and simple and after blog-browsing I found a lovely Jamie dish for Chicken and Mushroom Potato topped pie. It's healthy, easy, and wholly satisfying. Furthermore it's also very good value. This recipe is plenty for two with some green vegetables or ok with one with leftovers - depending on how your stomach's holding up. Here's my adaption of the recipe. Thanks to Jamie for the inspiration.
The Recipe:
Ingredients:
15 ml Olive Oil - More to brush on top
1 Chicken Breast - Diced
1 Banana Shallot - Fine chopped
1 clove of Garlic - Minced
1tsp Sugar
60 grams of White Mushrooms - Roughly chopped
60 grams of Chestnut Mushrooms - Roughly chopped
1 tbsp of Parsley leaves
1 tbsp Stalks of Parsley - (Soaked in 100 ml boiling water - I'll explain the value of this later) - Optional
100 ml White Wine
2 tsp flour.
250 ml of Chicken Stock (preferably made from concentrate with 150 ml of Potato Water and 100 ml of Parsley water)
200 - 300 grams of Unpeeled Charlotte Potatoes - Finely Sliced.
Cook the meal:
1. Prepare the ingredients. Dice the shallot, mince the Garlic and finely slice the Charlotte Potatoes. Then, dice the Chicken
2. Season the Chicken and add to the hot Oil moving around until sealed. Roughly 2-3 mins. Remove and set aside.
3. Add Shallot until translucent then stir in 1tsp of Sugar and minced Garlic for another minute.
4. Add Mushrooms to cook until all liquid has been released and they appear soft and juicy - 5-10 minutes.
5. Bring pan to a high heat and throw Wine in until reduced by two thirds. While this is happening, boil sliced potatoes for 1 minute and drain.
4. Now sprinkle in the flour stirring contstantly. The mixture should start to thicken.
5. Slowly add the stock (see suggestion below) stirring constantly until used up.
6. When the mixture looks and dense stir back through the Chicken and the Parsley.
7. Take off the heat.
Assemble the meal
8. In a small dish place Chicken mixture.
9. Layer up the potatoes brushing with oil and seasoning, pressing down as you go.
10. Bake for 20 minutes, remove from over and serve with some frozen peas if you want.
Stock:
1. Add 1 Chicken Stock cube or enough liquid concentrate of stock (I used Knorr) to make up 250ml Stock.
2. When Potatoes are cooked strain off 150 ml of the water (which will be flavoured by the Potato Skins) and place in jug with stock cube.
3. Add 100ml of boiling water to Parsley an leave to infuse. Then add again to Chicken
concentrate stock.
4. Mix well, add at step 5 in recipe.
Notes:
- The advantage of using the Potato and Parsley water in the stock is to ensure you pack as much flavour from the ingredients you use as possible. You can adapt to many dishes - Do the same with any bits of herb you don't use in the dish - Rosemary stalks for example in a Lamb Stock for Shepherds pie.
- I've left the wine addition up to you with this dish but if you use a sweeter wine maybe cut down the amount of sugar you use. Remember to taste the dish as you go - You'll know what flavour the wine's giving to your dish.
Ingredients:
For The Sauce:
200 ml Medium Dry White Wine
1/2 tbsp Olive Oil
1/2 tbsp Slightly Salted Butter
1 Clove Garlic - Crushed to a paste
1/2 Small Banana Shallot - Finely chopped
1/2 tsp sugar
1 large Chicken Breast
10 grams Dried Cepes
10 grams Dried Jaunes
10 grams Dried Jumbo Morels
30 grams Chestnut Mushrooms - Roughly chopped
30 grams White Mushrooms - Roughly chopped
400 ml Chicken Stock
2 tbsp Double Cream
1 tbsp Flat Leaf Parsley (Stalks removed) - Roughly chopped
A dash of Truffle Oil (Optional)
For The Mash:
1 Large Maris Piper Potato - Quartered
2 tbsp Whole Milk
1 tbsp Double Cream
Sea Salt
Ground Black Pepper
Prepare the Ingredients:
1. Soak the dried Mushrooms in the Wine for upto 1 hour in order to rehydrate them and then drain reserving the liquid squeezing out any excess moisture from the Mushrooms back into the infused Wine and then roughly chop.
2. Peel and quarter the Potatoes, crush the Garlic, finely chop the Shallot, remove and roughly chop the Parsley leaves.
3. Place potatoes in a pan of salted water and bring to boil .
4. Whilst the potatoes are cooking, heat Butter and Olive Oil in hot pan, season Chicken and pan fry on both sides until sealed, roughly 2-3 minutes each side. Remove chicken and cover.
5. Turn down the hob slightly and in the same pan throw the Shallots in and fry until translucent adding a Sugar to allow a slight caramelisation - Roughly 3 minutes.
6. Add Garlic for a further minute stirring vigoursly and then add all the Mushrooms for 5-10 minutes until the juices from the Mushrooms have all but evapourated.
7. Now turn up the heat throw in the reserved Wine Mushroom stock until reduced by 2 thirds.
8. Place back in Chicken, and pour stock over until it just reaches the top of the Chicken.
9. Bring to boil, turn down to a simmer, cover and leave to cook for another 15 minutes.
10. The Potatoes should have now been cooking for 20 minutes or so. Check the are soft, drain, set aside in warm saucepan to allow any excess moisture to evapourate.
11. Push through a Potato ricer or mash extremely finely until you have a light, lump free and set aside again.
12. When the Chicken cooking time has elapsed, check it is fully cooked
and the juices run clear and remove from the Mushroom Sauce.
To Serve:
14. Add double Cream and Parsley to the Mushroom Sauce, stir and add back the Chicken to warm through - 2 minutes.
15. Heat double Cream, Milk and Butter in a pan and pour through Potatoes on a medium heat stirring with a wooden spoon until smooth and creamy - 2 - 3 minutes.
16. Heap Mash onto a warmed plate and lay the Chicken Breast over the top. Spoon over the Mushroom sauce, drizzling with a very small amount of Truffle Oil until your content, reserving any leftovers to stir through pasta the next day, or serve on lightly toasted Ciabatta for a luxury breakfast.
Note : If you feel like substituting different dried Mushrooms - Feel free. The combination above although delicious may simply be used as a guide.
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I've recently been developing a rather excessive love of tweedesque patterns. My first purchase was a green tweed blazer I picked up in a lovely little vintage shop in the le marais area of Paris. My most recent is this tweedesque double breasted coat which I found in "Snoopers Paradise" down in the North Laine area of Brighton. I'm still looking for a nice herringbone tweed blazer with three buttons and elbow patches. My friend picked up a lovely one recently and I have to say I'm jealous. Couple of tweed finds are shown above. Oh, and how amazing does the new Doctor Who look?
Well, its been a while since I updated this blog. Two years infact, so here I am updating. I might get more into this blogging thing, its quite fun to talk about random stuff sometimes. I quite like it. So today I'm going to share my recipe for steak with peppercorn sauce. This is insanely rich and incredibly unhealthy but delicious. I've tried a few versions of this over the years but this is the finely tuned version. If you like rich food this is for you.
Ingredients:
For two:
2 Rib-eye Steaks
2 Cloves of Garlic
1 Banana Shallot
2 Sprigs of Thyme
2 Sprigs of Rosemary
2 Portabello Mushrooms
10 Black Peppercorns
2 tsp of Green Peppercorns
2 tbsp Brandy
175ml Red wine
150 ml of Beef Stock
100 ml of Double Cream
Butter to Baste Steaks
Seasoning;
Prepare the ingredients : Season with steaks with salt and pepper both sides - Set aside - Make sure you've taken the steaks out of the fridge 30 mins before cooking to come to room temperature so they aren't cold inside when cooked. Finely chop shallots, garlic and mushrooms. Crush peppercorns with thyme and rosemary in a pestle and mortar. Cook steaks (for medium rare) - 3 minutes each side in olive oil, add butter when you turn steaks over and baste continually for the last 3 minutes. Take out and of pan and keep warm. Add a little more butter and shallots and fry for 2 minutes with garlic until soft. Add mushrooms until soft and then pour in Brandy to deglaze the pan (keep back from the pan or your hair will set on fire and then you'll be in serious trouble) Add herbs for 20 seconds. Add wine and reduce by half, add stock and reduce by half - The kitchen will now smell delicious, and you may faint. If you are prone to fainting, ensure you have a glass of water standing by. Finally pour peppercorns and cream into the pan for 2 minutes. When slightly reduced and the consistency looks just right (so that it coats the back of a metal spoon will do) pour over steaks. Serve with Dauphinoise Potatoes and a glass of Red wine. Leave the washing up till the morning, you won't want to move after this. I suggest curling up on the sofa and wacking on a nice film.
