CDwM Main Course recipe - Chicken with wild mushroom and spinach sauce.

From Bon Appétit

I've cooked this dish a few times before and it's always really tasty. It's sort of an up-to-date version of that old classic, Chicken Tarragon that my mum used to make. Now, having watched quite a few 'Something for the Weekends', I have noticed that Simon has a penchant for this herb, and, I believe, quite rightly so! It's one of those things I don't think we use often enough and tends to be in dried form at the back of the cupboard from the early 1970s! Well, this recipe uses fresh tarragon. You can't make it ahead of schedule, in terms of the day before, but pan frying the chicken and beginning the sauce is something you could do earlier in the evening, before your guests arrive.

For the real recipe, click here, or for my version, carry on reading!

Chicken breasts with skin on, preferably free-range
chicken stock
wild mushrooms
spinach
white wine
cream
tarragon

basmati rice
flaked almonds

Pan fry the seasoned chicken breast until browned, ensuring the skin is crispy.
Turn skin side up, pop into an oven-proof dish and pour chicken stock around them, until it reaches a third up the breasts.
Cook in a hot oven, about 180-200 degrees celcius, until cooked through: about 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, fry the butter until sizzling, then add the torn wild mushrooms. Don't shake the pan around; let them sit there for a few minutes first.
When they are soft and browned, add a glass of wine and bubble 'til it's nearly gone.
Add the spinach, cream, I used double, and the chopped tarragon and season to taste.

Serve with the rice: Cook the rice as per the packet instructions, toast the almonds, either in a hot, dry frying pan or in the oven (keep an eye on them, I usually end up making two batches, the first always being very burnt as I get easily distracted!) Once done, combine them with the rice and add a blob of butter to taste.

On the night, I slightly overcooked the chicken and this is something to be aware of! If the sauce isn't quite ready, remove the chicken from the oven, and pop it back to heat before serving. It's a quick and easy recipe but, if you serve it attractively, looks more complex than it really is!

Day 1 - chicken with spinach and wild mushrooms

Chicken with Spinach and Wild Mushrooms

Was rather in a rush tonight when trialling my first dish for the forth-coming CDwM. I'd have been in more of a hurry had I not bumped into Titto in the supermarket; he valiantly offered to help pack and it was finished in a flash! As you know, you need to cook with love if you want it to turn out right, and, to be honest, I really didn't have the heart for it tonight: take-away pizza and coleslaw would have been perfect, but, as I've got rather a lot of trial runs to go this week, so I can change my menu if necessary (!) I thought I'd better get started.

Chicken - overcooked, dry and chewy. Need to buy similar sized fillets and cook for no longer than 15 mins after browning. Good colour on top though!

Mushrooms - due to lack of usual packet from Tescos - sorry, would buy form Borough Market if I lived even marginally close - had different types from normal. Need to cut very thin slivers of these type.

Rice - There's a first time for everything! Perfectly cooked. Be careful to serve hot! Leave over steaming water once rinsed with cold water. Only 2 handfuls needed per person, not three. Don't forget about toasted almonds in pan and leave some for top of rice. Needs serving in narrower circles - little glass ramekins?

To serve - rice in one corner, blob of sauce with chicken on top in other.

Tonight's dinner was ok; definitely not a winning dish though! A lot more attention to detail needed, and accurate cooking times.