Chicken Thighs with Wild Mushrooms

Credit: Flickr / leoslo

Substitute bone-in chicken breasts if thighs aren’t your favourite

Wild mushrooms add versatility and rich, bold flavours to this comfort food classic chicken dish on Pappardelle noodles

Chicken can be one of those ho-hum “not again” dinners, but give this recipe a try — not only can you make it ahead, but it won’t diminish in flavour as a leftover.

If thighs aren’t your favourite, substitute bone-in breasts and reduce the cooking time to 45 minutes. I personally prefer thighs as they have so much more flavour than breast meat and with the long cooking time, the meat will just fall from the bone.

Ingredients

• ¼ cup each dried morels, Italian porcini and French cèpes
• 5 Tbsp. olive oil
• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• 2 lbs. bone-in chicken thighs, skin removed
• 1 large yellow onion, finely diced
• 8 large whole garlic cloves, peeled
• 2 Tbsp. Major Chicken Stock Base, or 2 cubes chicken bouillon, undiluted
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 fresh thyme sprigs
• Freshly ground pepper
• 1-½ cups sliced button mushrooms
• 1 cup dry white wine
• ½ cup heavy cream
• ¼ cup finely chopped fresh parsley

Instructions

1. Soak the dried wild mushrooms in 2 cups of hot water for about 40 minutes or until completely soft.
2. Meanwhile, heat 3 Tbsp. of the olive oil in a cast-iron pan and place the flour in a shallow dish.
3. Dip the chicken into the flour, shaking off the excess.
4. Fry in the hot pan, turning as needed.
5. Cook for about 10 minutes or until golden brown on both sides.
6. Transfer to a roasting pan and set aside.
7. Wipe out any excess oil and flour sediment from the frying pan, then heat the remaining 2 Tbsp. oil.
8. When hot, add the onion and garlic. Lightly sauté for about 5 minutes or until the onion begins to soften.
9. Drain the mushrooms and if they seem a little sandy, rinse again in water.
10. Chop the larger mushrooms and add to the pan of sautéed onion along with the undiluted chicken stock, bay leaf, pepper, thyme sprigs, fresh mushrooms and wine.
11. Cook for a few minutes, until the stock dissolves, then pour mixture over the chicken pieces. Cover the roasting pan and bake at 350°F for 1-½ hours or until the chicken is cooked through.
12. Transfer chicken to a serving platter, cover and keep warm.
13. Remove the garlic cloves and place in a small bowl. Mash garlic with the back of a spoon. Return garlic to the roaster.
14. Add the cream to the roasting pan and bring sauce to a boil. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Spoon sauce over the chicken and garnish with the chopped parsley.
15. Serve over cooked pappardelle noodles.

Serves 6.

Listen to Caren McSherry Thursdays between 11 a.m. and 11:40 a.m. on CKNW 98.

Originally published in TVW. For daily programming updates and on-screen Entertainment news, subscribe to the free TVW e-newsletters, or purchase a subscription to the weekly magazine.