Sautéed Chicken Cutlets with Porcini Sauce
13I’ve been a wee bit obsessed with mushrooms ever since I was little. I love them on anything and everything (although, for some reason, I’ve never the biggest fan of them raw). Of course when I was younger, I pretty much exclusively ate your standard button mushrooms. Now, I’m able to eat all kinds of mushrooms, porcini being one of my favorites (but don’t forget morels or hen of the woods).
Dried porcini mushrooms give so much flavor to every meal. The mushrooms themselves are delicious, but then using the liquid they’ve been reconstituted in gives you even more bang for your buck. Or taste for your ounce. Or whatever.
I’ve had this recipe saved for a while and finally decided to make it when I saw porcini mushrooms on sale recently. And let me tell you, it did not disappoint. This dish is very reminiscent of chicken marsala, but I think the sauce is much richer.
Speaking of the sauce, I barely had enough for my 3 chicken breasts, and the original recipe called for 4, so I may increase the number of porcini (for sure) and possibly the amount of liquid, too, especially if I were to use 4 breasts. I will admit that I tend to be an over-reducer, so that may have contributed to the smaller amount of sauce but either way, I’d prefer more porcini per piece. This made enough for 2 dinner and 2 lunch portions for us, so it was perfect. I reduced the oil and butter by just a bit, with no ill effects. In fact, I almost forgot the butter altogether and the sauce tasted just as great, but I did swirl it in at the end when I realized I had forgotten it. It made it just a little silkier.
Sautéed Chicken Cutlets with Porcini Sauce
Adapted from Cook’s Illustrated
Serves 3-4
1/2 oz. dried porcini mushrooms (about 3/4 cup)
1 cup low sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup AP flour
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (6-8 oz. each), halved horizontally and pounded 1/4″ thick
1 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
1 small shallot, minced
1/4 cup dry vermouth
1 tsp. tomato paste
1 tsp. soy sauce
1/2 tsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1/2 tsp. thyme, minced
1/2 tsp. lemon juice
Rinse the porcini in a large bowl of cold water, agitating them with hands to release dirt and sand. Allow sand to settle to bottom of bowl. Pour chicken broth into microwave-safe 2 cup measuring cup, and then then lift porcini from water and transfer to measuring cup. Submerge porcini beneath the surface of liquid. Microwave 1 minute, until brothis steaming. Let stand 10 minutes. Using tongs, gently lift porcini out of broth and transfer to cutting board, reserving broth. Chop porcini into ¾-inch pieces and transfer to medium bowl. Strain broth through fine-meshstrainer lined with large coffee filter into bowl with chopped porcini.
Combine flour, salt, and pepper in pie plate. Dredge chicken in flour, shaking gently to remove excess. Set chicken aside on plate, and reserve a teaspoon of the flour.
Heat 1/2 Tbsp. oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until smoking. Place 3 cutlets in skillet and cookwithout moving until browned, about 1-2 minutes. Flip cutlets and continue to cook until second sides are opaque,15 to 20 seconds. Transfer to large plate.
Add remaining 1/2 Tbsp. oil to now-empty skillet and repeat to cook remainingcutlets. Tent plate loosely with foil.
Reduce heat to medium. Add the shallot and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 30 seconds. Add reserved teaspoon flour and cook, whisking constantly, 30 seconds. Increase heat to medium-high and whisk in vermouth, soaked porcini and their liquid, tomato paste, soy sauce,and sugar. Simmer until reduced to 1 cup, 3 to 5 minutes.
Transfer cutlets and any accumulated juices to skillet. Cover and simmer until cutlets are heated through,about 1 minute. Remove skillet from heat and transfer cutlets to serving platter. Whisk butter, thyme, and lemon juice into sauce and season with salt and pepper. Spoon sauce over chicken and serve immediately .
I am crazy for mushrooms too Elly! This looks great!
I’m a mushroom fan myself. Dried porcini mushrooms are so flavorful, you’re right—add them to any dish and they will impart that beautiful earthy flavor and make even the simplest meal seem special. Your dish looks amazing. Is that orzo I spot underneath?
Magda
Yep, I served the chicken with a parmesan orzo. Yum!
I used to hate mushrooms, but I really like them now. I think this recipe might convince Eric to like them, too. 🙂
For a mushroom lover you will be surprised that it has only been in the last couple of years that I have learned to appreciate mushrooms. Now they sho up every where!
I love love love mushrooms too and porcini are probably my favorite. This looks great.
I am a big Porcini fan. Looks delish!
I started making this dish as soon as I got that issue of CI! It has quickly become one of our favorites. I love to serve it with the brown rice from the same issue. This makes me want to put it on the menu again for next week!
Dried mushrooms offer so much flavour and never throw out the liquid! This sauce is the obvious start here…gonna have some mushrooms stat!
we featured this post on FoodPress.com today – the recipes look divine, and anything with a richer sauce than marasala is bound to be good!
YUM, that looks GREAT. I’ve got the ingredients on my list and will make this tomorrow.
oh my gosh! it makes me really hungwy. Poor me! lol.
That dish looks yummy, its mouth watering! I will definitely try this one out!
Raymund
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