Chicken with Morels and Spring Herbs
It was my lucky, lucky day! My neighbor Bob went Morel hunting and shared half of his finds with me. Thanks Bob! Those of you that have seen Morel’s available at a farmers market know what I mean. They are very expensive and you almost have to have a source to obtain them. I started thinking of different ways to cook my treasured Morels. I want to retain the flavor of the Morels and not bury it with a bunch of other ingredients so I keep things simple. This is only the second time I have had fresh Morels to cook with; Bob gave me some a couple of years ago. I looked at my herbs and the chives, parsley and tarragon look beautiful. That’s how I came up with my “Chicken with Morels and Spring Herbs” recipe. To make this recipe Gluten Free I substituted the all purpose flour with brown rice flour. I served my husband’s with noodles on the side while I had creamy polenta. If you don’t have morels on hand use any variety of mushrooms you have available. I think baby bellas or white button mushrooms would be good as well.
Chicken with Morels and Spring Herbs
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts pounded ¼” thick
All-purpose flour or brown rice flour for Gluten Free
Salt and fresh ground black pepper
Extra virgin olive oil
2 cups cleaned morels, very rough chop
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoon red wine
½ cup cold water
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon minced tarragon
2 tablespoon minced parsley
2 tablespoon chives, I did 1 tablespoon garlic chives
On a sheet of wax paper combine flour and season with salt and pepper. Heat a skillet over moderately high heat, when hot add 1 Tablespoon olive oil, swirl to coat bottom of pan. Press chicken breasts into flour mixture coating them evenly and shaking off any excess. Add to pan and brown for 2-3 minutes on each side or until cooked through. Remove and keep warm.
Add butter to pan, when melted add the morels and while tossing cook for 2-3 minutes. I noticed a lot of moisture came out but cooked away quickly. Once the liquid has dissipated add the red wine and toss until the wine is absorbed.
Mix the cornstarch into the cold water, and then add to the pan along with the herbs. Stir, bring to boil. After about a minute most of the liquid will evaporate and a thick sauce will remain.
Place chicken on plate and top with morel herb sauce. Yum!
