Shiitake in the title caught my eye as it did plenty of times before but that was before I knew I could buy the mushrooms without making a trip to a specific store. Turns out, they are also available loose at Grower's Direct. Originally written to generate four servings, I portioned it to get two servings. After all, I have plenty of risotto left.
Shiitake-Stuffed Chicken Breasts
adapted from Cooking Club of America
1/2 tsp minced fresh ginger
1 small garlic clove, minced
2 tbsp peanut oil, divided
2 tbsp dry sherry, divided
1/4 tsp soy sauce
1 1/2 tsp tomato paste
2 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp freshly ground pepper
2 tbsp water
Remove and discard stems from shiitake mushrooms. Reserve 4 of the smallest caps. Place remaining mushrooms in food processor with ginger and garlic; pulse until finely chopped or chop by hand.
1 small garlic clove, minced
2 tbsp peanut oil, divided
2 tbsp dry sherry, divided
1/4 tsp soy sauce
1 1/2 tsp tomato paste
2 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp freshly ground pepper
2 tbsp water
Remove and discard stems from shiitake mushrooms. Reserve 4 of the smallest caps. Place remaining mushrooms in food processor with ginger and garlic; pulse until finely chopped or chop by hand.
Who doesn't have a food processor? That would be me!
Heat large skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add 1 tablespoon of the oil; heat until hot. Add chopped mushrooms, ginger and garlic; cook 2 to 3 minutes or until softened, stirring frequently.
Add 1 tablespoon of the sherry and 1/2 teaspoon soy sauce; cook 1 to 2 minutes or until liquid has evaporated and mushrooms form paste.
My sherry evaporated almost on contact with the mushrooms.
Stir in tomato paste. Place in small bowl; cool.
Place chicken breasts on flat surface. Slice chicken almost in half horizontally, cutting to about 1/2 inch from edge. Open; press to flatten slightly. Spread one-half of the mushroom mixture over one side of chicken.
Fold breasts in half over mushroom mixture; tuck in pointed end of breast. Seal with toothpicks; sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Heat same skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil; heat until hot. Add chicken; cook 3 to 4 minutes or until golden brown.
You can sort of tell when the bottom will be golden brown when the edges are white and if you gently scootch the meat in the skillet it moves freely. If it doesn't move, an uncooked part is sticking and not yet brown. Of course, simply lifting the breasts and peeking works too.
Turn; add reserved mushroom caps, cap side down.
Cook 3 to 4 minutes or until golden brown. Reduce heat to low; cover and cook 8 to 10 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink in center, turning mushrooms and chicken once. Place chicken on platter.
After 8 minutes covered, the lid is really sweaty with condensation.
Add water and remaining 1 tablespoon sherry to skillet; increase heat to high. Bring to a boil, scraping up any browned bits from bottom of skillet. Boil 1 to 2 minutes or until slightly reduced.
Serve chicken with mushroom caps and sauce.
Beautiful presentation, the sauce was nicely flavored, but unfortunately the chicken a little dry. Cooking for a full eight minutes when covered was on the long side. I'd check the temperature before cooking covered for a better estimate on how long to let it go. Stuffing the chicken with mushrooms made for a pretty surprise when the chicken was sliced but wasn't quite as great as I'd hoped flavorwise.
When preparing the mushrooms, I was a little annoyed with the part where the mushrooms were supposed to become pasty. The sherry and soy sauce evaporated so quickly there was no opportunity for paste to form. The mushrooms were quite loose and didn't even get very paste-like when the tomato paste was stirred into it. It's quite possible that in this case, the recipe is best left with original quantities in mind just because of skillet-mushroom ratio.
Or, more likely a possibility, I didn't chop the mushrooms fine enough. Mushrooms have a lot of moisture and it just might have been that I didn't cook my too-big mushrooms long enough to release the water that would help make a paste.
Will I do this one again? Not likely. However, if looking for something a little more elegant, I'd certainly consider this one. Also because the breasts can be stuffed in advance and cooked later, it's a reason to consider it for a busy day.
Cost:
- shiitake mushrooms: $1.40
- ginger: $0.11
- garlic: $0.10
- sherry: $0.24
- tomato paste: $0.20
- chicken breast halves: $1
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