Chicken braised with porcini mushrooms

Chicken braised with porcini mushrooms

Original points given.  recalculate for your plan

From the kitchen of  TAMSINBH

servings |  4
estimated Points® per serving | 6

8 skinless, boneless chicken thighs
1 teaspoon olive oil
4 medium shallots, peeled and thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
8oz (225g) small open-cup or chestnut mushrooms, quartered through the stalk
300ml (1/2 pint) chicken stock
100ml (3 1/2 fl oz) dry white wine
1 x 10g sachet dried porcini mushrooms, snipped into rough pieces using scissors
1 level tablespoon chopped fresh sage
1 tbsp arrowroot
salt and freshly milled black pepper

First you need to trim the chicken thighs of any fat or stringy bits, then cut each thigh into 5-6 bite-sized pieces. Heat half of the oil in a deep frying pan, season the chicken meat with salt and freshly milled black pepper, then fry a few pieces at a time, over a medium to high heat, until they are lightly browned. remove to a plate and continue until they are all browned. Now add the remaining oil and the shallots to the pan, and fry for about 2 minutes until they are just beginning to soften, before adding the garlic and the quartered mushrooms. Stir these around for about 2 minutes, then add the chicken stock, white wine, porcini mushrooms and the sage. Now return the chicken to the pan, give it all a good seasoning and bring it up to a simmer then turn the heat right down and put the lid on. This all needs to cook gently now for 25 minutes, but give it an occasional stir to make sure that the porcini mushrooms are submerged in the liquid so that they can re-hydrate properly.
Meanwhile to thicken the sauce of the casserole, first blend the arrowroot with a little cold water in a small bowl, then add some of the hot liquid from the pan to the bowl. Mix together thoroughly, then scrape it all into the sauté pan, stirring as you add it so that it is evenly distributed. Turn the heat up to medium and cook for 1-2 minutes until the sauce has thickened.

Notes
This recipe doesn't take as long as the method looks - I've given you the fully written out version rather than quick notes! It's fab with mash, or good with rice. This is best made with chicken thighs which are more juicy, but if you use 4 diced chicken breasts it will reduce the points per serving to 3.5