Chicken Fricassee on Toast

Chicken Fricassee on Toast

Poultry
French, Main Dish

Serves 4

This is an easy and elegant supper, needing only a green vegetable and a dry white wine to complete the meal.

However, you’ll want to seek out the best-quality pasture-raised, slow-growth chicken that you can get your hands on — something from the farmer’s market would be best. The chicken is the star of the show here, and “ordinary” modern chicken breasts are both far too large to cook evenly in the pan and invariably unpleasantly fibrous and flavorless. Seek out chicken breasts that are no more than 6-8 ounces each.

Ingredients #

  • 6-8 large button mushrooms, sliced thin
  • 1 yellow onion, minced finely
  • 1 small clove garlic, minced very finely
  • 1 scant tsp dried fines herbes
  • 1/4 tsp dried marjoram
  • 6 tbsp butter (divided)
  • 1/2 cup dry sherry (divided)
  • 2 1/2 cups half-and-half or light cream (divided)
  • Cayenne pepper to taste
  • 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • 2 egg yolks
  • Salt and black pepper
  • 1 tbsp minced flat-leaf parsley
  • 1 tbsp capers
  • 4 large slices from a rustic round loaf of crusty bread

Instructions #

In a small bowl, whisk the egg yolks with 1/2 cup of half-and-half. Set aside.

Place 4 tbsp butter in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Season the chicken breasts on both sides with salt and pepper. Once the butter foams up and subsides, sauté the chicken breasts very, very gently, covering with a lid, for 4 minutes on one side and two minutes on the other. There should be no browning, but the breasts should be springy rather than mushy to the touch. It would be better to undercook them a bit, as they will be re-heated in the sauce before serving. Remove them to a plate, cover loosely with foil, and set aside.

Toast the bread slices on the rack of a 350F oven, until they are crisp and browned at the edges.

Increase the heat under the pan to medium-high and add the mushrooms to the remaining fat. Season with salt and pepper, and sauté until they begin to brown, and add the onion. Continue cooking until the mushrooms are well-cooked and the onions are soft and translucent. Add the garlic and dried herbs, and cook for another minute.

Add 1/4 cup sherry and stir to deglaze the pan. Add 2 cups half-and-half, reduce heat, and allow to simmer until it thickens a bit.

Cut the chicken breasts into bite-sized cubes and add them and any accumulated juices to the pan. Return to a simmer and cook for another 2-3 minutes.

Reduce heat to low and stir in the egg-yolk mixture gradually. Keep stirring until the yolks slightly thicken the sauce. The sauce should be thick and velvety.

Stir in the half of the parsley, the remaining sherry, and the capers. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and a pinch of cayenne. Simmer for a moment more, and turn off the heat.

Place a slice of toast on each plate and spoon the chicken mixture and sauce over the toast. Sprinkle with a bit of the remaining parsley and serve immediately.