One Skillet Chicken and Mushrooms

I’ve had enough of chicken breast fajitas, so I bought some chicken thighs (change doesn’t come easy to me) and tried a one skillet chicken and button mushroom dish. The starting point was a Emeril Lagasse recipe for Braised Chicken Thighs with Button Mushrooms, I’ll note the changes.

Here are the ingredients (the essence was a gift from Scott)

6 9 chicken thighs

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon essence (Emeril’s or homemade)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

2 tablespoons butter

16 ounces button mushrooms, thinly thick sliced

1 cup sliced yellow onion

1 tablespoon minced garlic

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons 1 small can tomato paste

2 cups 24 oz. dark chicken stock

2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh rosemary leaves (mine were right from the garden)

4 cups steamed white rice

1 pkg. medium egg noodles

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves

Set a 10-inch, straight-sided saute pan over medium-high heat and add the oil. Season the chicken thighs with the Essence, salt and pepper. Place the chicken, skin side down in the pan and sear until golden brown, about 3 to 4 minutes.

Turn the chicken over and sear on the second side for another 3 to 4 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pan and add the butter and mushrooms. Saute the mushrooms, stirring occasionally, until browned and most of the liquid has evaporated, about 4 to 5 minutes.

Add the onions and garlic to the pan and saute for 3 to 4 minutes. Sprinkle the flour into the pan and cook, stirring often to make a light brown roux, about 4 to 5 minutes. I cleared some space in the middle of the pan to make the roux, but sprinkling the flour over the whole pan worked well also. Slicing the mushrooms thicker generates a little less water, so I needed to add a few tablespoons at this stage.

Add the tomato paste, stock and rosemary to the pan, bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Return the chicken to the pan, skin side down and cook the chicken for 30 minutes. Turn the chicken over and cook until the meat is very tender, about 30 minutes.

I used more stock (by accident to be honest) and therefore more tomato paste than Emeril’s recipe, but generated more sauce that went very well with the noodles. Serve the chicken and sauce over noodles.

The recipe takes about 20 minutes before the hour cooking step. The aroma permeates the house and made for a wonderful cooking experience. I enjoyed this meal with a nice Pinot Noir from the Anderson Valley, Migration by Duckhorn.

It’s a rich, not too spicy wine that is a great match for the meal. Until next time, enjoy yourself in the kitchen.