I've been trying to cook more at home and stretch my culinary skills. Whilst this dish wasn't particularly difficult, it's a nice one to whip up on a weekday evening as (if you prepare the mushrooms in the morning) it will only take half an hour to whip up in the evening. Healthy, nutritious and filling, although from the title this may not be one you're racing to give a go, I recommend you try it for a warm and comforting meal on a cold evening.
Serves 6
Sauce:25g (scant 1oz) dried wild mushrooms15g (.oz) unsalted butter100g (3 1/2 oz) mushrooms, roughly chopped350ml (12fl oz) well-flavoured chicken stock125ml (4fl oz) double creamsalt and pepper
Chicken:6 skin-on boneless chicken breasts (the best you can afford), each 150g (5 ½ oz)20g (3/4 oz) unsalted buttera splash of groundnut or rapeseed oil
Lentils:2 tbsp olive oil1 small onion, finely chopped1 carrot, finely chopped1 celery stick, finely chopped300g (10 ½ oz) Puy or Umbrian lentils450ml (16fl oz) chicken stock, more if needed (optional)1 bay leaf2 tsp sherry vinegar2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil1 ½ tbsp finely chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves
Method:
Start with the sauce, which you can make in advance if you want and reheat at the last minute.
Pour 75ml (2.fl oz) of boiling water over the dried mushrooms and leave to soak for 15 minutes.
Melt the butter and saute the other mushrooms until well coloured. Drain the wild mushrooms, reserving the soaking liquor, and chop any that are large. Add to the mushrooms in the pan and cook for another minute. Pour on the stock and soaking liquor and cook until the liquid has reduced by two-thirds. Add the cream and simmer until the sauce coats the back of a spoon. Taste and season, you shouldn’t need any salt because of the reduced chicken stock.
Allow the chicken breasts to come to room temperature. For the lentils, heat the regular oil in a heavy-based pan and gently saute the onion, carrot and celery for 10 minutes. Add the lentils, stock and bay leaf and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook, covered, for 20–25 minutes, or until the lentils are cooked but still have a little bite. (Keep an eye on them as they turn mushy very quickly.) By the end of the cooking time the stock should have been absorbed (you may need a little more stock or water during cooking).
Gently stir in the vinegar, virgin oil and parsley, check for seasoning and cover to keep warm.
Heat the butter and oil for the chicken in a large frying pan. Season the chicken and put it in the pan, skin side down. Cook for two minutes on each side over a medium heat, then reduce the heat and cook for six or so minutes, turning, until cooked through but still moist.
Quickly reheat the sauce. Either leave the breasts whole or cut them, on a slight angle, into two or three pieces. Put some lentils into the center of six warmed plates, put a chicken breast on top of each serving and spoon some of the sauce around. Serve immediately.
Adapted from A Bird in The Hand by Diana Henry
What do you think of this recipe? Will you be trying it any time soon?
