Chicken with dried porcini mushrooms, vermouth and thyme.
After a recent rainy period, the nearby forest was full of fungi. Not being mushroom experts, we played safe and picked one of the few types that we’re certain about, and know that they’re delicious: porcini.
Once home, the mushrooms were sliced and dried for 7-8 hours in a food dehumidifier, and later provided the inspiration for this dish.
Ingredients
3-4 chicken breast filets, diced into large chunks
1 tbs butter/1 tbs olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 cup dried porcini mushrooms,
1 chicken stock cube
¾ cup dry vermouth
Good handful chopped fresh thyme
½ cup crème fraiche
Chili flakes, salt and pepper to taste
Method
Soak the mushrooms in a small bowl for approx. 30 minutes
Heat the butter and oil in a large frying pan, add the chicken pieces and sauté until the chicken is slightly brown and almost cooked. Remove the chicken.
Add the onions and celery and sauté for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté a further 2-3 minutes.
Add the vermouth, the porcini (chopped into smaller pieces, if desired), the soaking liquor and stock cube, and boil to reduce by half.
Return the chicken to the pan, together with the crème fraiche and thyme and simmer a further 5 minutes.
Season to taste with salt and pepper (plus chilli flakes if desired).
Serve with pasta .e.g. fettuccine, rice or burgul.
