This recipe won 2nd place in our 2015 Metro Recipe Contest and was submitted by Bernie Ewing.
This is a recipe that begs to be served on one of those cold, nasty-weather, ice-pellets-in-your-face nights. So it takes a little time to prepare but what the heck, after a miserable drive home, it’s time to unwind, have a soothing glass of wine and make something really good for dinner. Trust me, this fits the bill. Let’s get cooking; we’ll start with the ‘mise en place’ that fancy term for assembling, preparing and making all the ingredients ready for use before we turn on a burner. Let’s assume we’re doing 4 legs:
- Prepare the chicken legs, bone in. Separate at the joint, remove the skin and trim off any excess fat. Not all fat, just the excess. Pat dry and set aside.
- Slice some mushrooms, 3 cups at least.
- Slice a red onion into rings. Set aside. If you wish to ensure smothering as stated in the title, make that two sliced onions
- Finely mince some garlic, a tablespoon or so will do for 4 legs.
- Measure out 2 to 3 tablespoons of Liquid Gold Traditional Aged Balsamic Vinegar. Set aside
- Add 2 teaspoons of dried tarragon to 1 teaspoon of dried thyme. Set aside.
- Chop a little fresh parsley for garnishing the finished dish.
- Have ready at hand some Liquid Gold Olive Oil (your favorite, or perhaps the Australian Barnea), a little butter, some chicken broth, black pepper, cornstarch and sour cream. No need to measure these ingredients just yet.
With all the ingredients ready, we can start cooking:
- Splash some Liquid Gold Olive Oil into a non-stick sauté pan sitting on medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, slide in the chicken and brown all over. Remove the chicken and keep warm. Increase the heat under the pan a tad and add a knob of butter.
- Tip the mushrooms into the pan – in batches if necessary to avoid overloading the pan – and sauté until all the liquid has evaporated. Add the onions and garlic and sauté until the onions are translucent and the garlic is fragrant.
- Add the Liquid Gold Balsamic Vinegar, tarragon, thyme, then stir to mix and cook 1 minute. Add the chicken broth – a cup or two and grind in some fresh pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium to low. Return the chicken to the pan and cook, covered 15 to 20 minutes or until done. Remove the chicken to a serving platter and keep warm.
- Make a slurry of the cornstarch and a little cold water. Whisk this into the sauce in small amounts, allowing the sauce to come to a bubbly state, until the sauce is at a consistency you like. Then swirl in some sour cream – a ¼ cup or as your taste prefers.
- Pour the sauce over the chicken, garnish with some parsley et voila – dinner is served. Side dishes could be plain boiled rice, hearty pasta like fettuccine or crusty baguette rounds.