CRISPY CHICKEN

• ▢2 chicken breasts, large (boneless skinless, ~600-700g / 1.2 – 1.4 lb total, Note 1)
• ▢1/2 tsp salt
• ▢black pepper
• ▢1/4 cup flour
• ▢15g / 1 tbsp unsalted butter

MUSHROOM SAUCE

• ▢30g / 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• ▢300g / 10 oz mushrooms , sliced (button or Swiss brown)
• ▢2 garlic cloves , minced
• ▢1/4 cup dry white wine (sub more chicken stock, Note 2)
• ▢1/2 cup chicken or vegetable stock , low sodium
• ▢1 cup thickened / heavy cream , full fat (Note 3)
• ▢1/2 cup parmesan , finely and freshly grated (Note 4)

FOR SERVING

• ▢2 tbsp chives , finely sliced (optional) – sub parsley, green onions, or omit

Instructions

• Split breast: Cut each breast in half horizontally to form 4 thin steaks in total.
• Dust with flour: Sprinkle each side with salt and pepper, then sprinkle with flour and use your fingers to spread it all over the surface.
• Cook chicken: Melt 15g butter in a large non-stick frying pan over medium high heat. Add chicken and cook each side for 2 1/2 minutes until golden brown and just cooked through. Remove from pan, cover and keep warm.
• Cook mushrooms: In the same frying pan, add remaining butter and increase heat to high. Add mushrooms and cook for 4 minutes, until starting to turn golden brown on the edges.
• Add garlic later: Then add garlic and a pinch of salt and pepper, and continue cooking for another minute until both garlic and mushrooms are golden.
• Deglaze skillet: Add white wine – it will bubble and be steamy! Cook for 30 seconds, scraping the bottom of the pan, until wine is mostly evaporated and the alcohol smell is gone.
• Make creamy sauce: Add chicken stock, cook vigorously for 1 minute so it mostly evaporates. Then add cream, lower heat to medium and simmer for 2 minutes until it reduces and thickens slightly.
• Add parmesan: Stir in parmesan, taste and add more salt and pepper if needed.
• Finish chicken in sauce: 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.
• Sides: Ideal served with mashed potato , pasta or rice – something to soak in that amazing sauce! See Note 5 for suggestions.

Recipe Notes:

1. Chicken – select large chicken breasts, so that each side of breast is enough for two servings.

Breast is best because once sliced in half they make two flat steaks which cook through quickly and evenly with a nice crust. Thigh works too but either butterfly the thick end to make it more even in thickness, or pound out.

2. White wine adds more depth of flavour to the sauce and is used for deglazing the pan (ie. dissolving the tasty golden bits left in the skillet from browning the chicken into the sauce = free flavour!)

I use sauvignon blanc or pinot gris (because they’re my drinking wines!). Anything that’s not overly fruity and sweet (like some rieslings) or too woody (like some heavily oaked chardonnays) will be fine.

3. Cream – full-fat thickened cream / heavy cream will yield the best results. For a lower fat alternative, use evaporated milk (preferred) or low-fat cream.

4. Parmesan – you need to grate your own from a block to ensure that it melts into the creamy sauce. Store-bought, pre-grated in any form (sandy, or fine batons) just doesn’t melt properly in sauces. Sorry!

When measuring, remember that freshly grated is aerated so the volume will look far greater than the weight, so you need to pack the cup down lightly (ie. 50g / 2oz freshly grated parmesan = over 1 cup in naked volume, but 1/2 cup lightly packed).

5. Sides for serving:

• Creamy Mashed Potato rates highly on my list (and here’s the low carb version – Creamy Mashed Cauliflower)
• Pasta, polenta, mashed beans or plain rice (brown, white, jasmine, basmati – find them all here)
• Crusty bread or soft dinner rolls for mopping

6. Storage – store chicken in the sauce (it helps keep it moist) for up to 3 days in the fridge, then reheat gently using microwave (take care not to overcook the chicken).