Braised Chicken Smothered in Mushroom, Onions and Balsamic Sauce

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:

  1. 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.
  1. 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.
  1. 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.
  1. 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.
  1. 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.                

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