Creamy chicken & mushrooms

I wanted to make a chicken dish to pair with the spectacular Tokara Reserve Chardonnay so this creamy chicken with mushrooms came about. This 100% Chardonnay with classic characteristics and fresh citrus notes stands up perfectly to the umami and creaminess of the dish. It’s easy enough to make for a weeknight supper but will also be a crowd-pleaser for a casual entertaining event.

I have made it on the stovetop in my Le Creuset 30cm buffet casserole dish with a lid, but any cast iron lidded casserole or dutch oven would work. You could also start it off in a non-stick frying pan and then finish it off in the oven in a dish of your choice or small high sided roasting pan.

Oven-roasted baby potato wedges with olive oil, thyme and salt accompanied this dish, but rice would work perfectly too. I cut them into wedges, scattered on a pan with a drizzle of Tokara olive oil, a few sprigs of thyme (or rosemary) and salt and roasted at 200C / 400F until golden brown. 

Recipe – serves 4 

Creamy chicken & mushrooms

A deliciously creamy chicken & mushroom dish that everyone will love.

Print Recipe

Ingredients

• 50 gms dried porcini mushrooms
• 3 Tbsp olive oil
• 8 Free-range chicken thighs or thighs and drumsticks
• 40 gms butter
• 1 small onion 2 shallots or half a large onion, finely chopped
• 1 large leek or 2 small leeks washed and sliced
• 3 cloves of garlic crushed
• ½ cup dry white wine
• 1 cup chicken stock
• ½ cup cream
• 250 gms Portobello mushrooms 1 punnet cut into quarters
• 40 gms butter
• Small bunch parsley chopped to garnish
• Salt & Pepper

Instructions

• Cover the dried porcini mushrooms with 200ml boiling water and allow to soften for 20 minutes.
• Heat the olive oil in a large casserole dish or non-stick frying pan and season the chicken pieces well with salt & pepper. Fry the pieces on both sides until golden brown. Remove and set aside on a plate.
• Drain off some of the fat if necessary and add the butter, onions and leeks. Sauté over a gentle heat until softened. Do not brown. Add the crushed garlic and cook briefly until aromatic. About 1 minute. Deglaze the pan with the white wine and allow it to bubble for about 2 minutes before adding the chicken stock.
• Drain the porcini mushrooms and chop them up. Add them into the dish with the soaking liquid and the cream. Season with salt and pepper.
• Add the chicken and any juices back into the dish and cook over a gentle heat for about 20 – 25 minutes. Half with the lid on and half with the lid off. If you do not have a lidded casserole dish, you could start off the cooking in a non-stick frying pan and then transfer to an ovenproof dish and cover in foil and roast for 30 minutes and a further 10 minutes with the foil off.
• A few minutes before the chicken is ready, sauté the quartered mushrooms in butter and stir them through the chicken. Scatter finely chopped parsley to serve.

Author: Sam Linsell

You can read more about Tokara here:

The Tokara spring menu 

Tokara olive oil

Prawn pasta with tomato garlic and cream 

Roasted broccoli, bean and burrata salad