- Chicken With Wild Mushroom And Balsamic Cream Sauce
Salt
1/2 pounds orzo pasta
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts,
6 ounces
Pepper
2 tablespoons butter
12 cremini or baby portobello mushrooms, sliced
12 shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and sliced
12 white mushrooms, sliced
2 large cloves garlic, chopped
a couple of sprigs thyme leaves, chopped
2 large shallots, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cup chicken stock
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons heavy cream or half-and-half
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley, a generous handful
Heat a large pot of water to a boil. Salt the water and add orzo
pasta. Cook to al dente. Preheat a large nonstick skillet over
medium-high heat and add extra-virgin olive oil. Season chicken
liberally with salt and pepper and add to the hot skillet. Cook the
5 to 6 minutes on each side. Remove the chicken from
the pan and cover with foil to keep warm. Return the skillet to
the heat, turn heat back a bit, and add the butter. Once the butter
melts add the mushrooms and brown stirring occasionally for about 4 to 5 minutes. Once the mushrooms are brown season with salt and pepper then add the garlic, thyme and shallots. Cook stirring
occasionally for about 2 minutes or until the shallots are wilted.
Sprinkle the flour into the pan and cook 2 minutes more. Whisk in
the stock, balsamic vinegar and the cream. Turn the heat up to high
and simmer for about 2 minutes or until thickened. Slice the chicken
on an angle. Add the parsley and the chicken back to the skillet
to heat up, about 1 minute. To serve, pile orzo on dinner plates
and top with the sliced chicken and sauce.
