Stuffed Chicken Breasts with Mushroom Ragout

Stuffed Chicken Breasts with Mushroom Ragout

Recipe by William Colsher

This recipe was inspired by the "Rouelle of Four Story Hills Farm Poularde" in Thomas Keller's Under Pressure and the need to use up a batch of Modernist Cuisine At Home's "Shiitake Marmalade".

The dried mushrooms I used in the Mushroom Ragout are the "Forest Mix Mushrooms" from Chef Depot. Their website is a bit on the primitive side but service is excellent and the mushrooms are a bargain at $16.95 a pound.

The immersion circulator I use is the Anova model. It's inexpensive (relative to others) and works beautifully.

Ingredients

• 2 Chicken Breast Halves
• 4 Tbs Shiitake Mushroom Marmalade (recipe below)
• Salt
• Pepper
• Transglutaminase RM
• Mushroom Ragout (recipe below) 

Cooking Directions

1. Carefully trim all excess fat and connective tissue from the chicken. Gently flatten the breast halves.
2. Place the breast halves skin side down on an 18 inch sheet of plastic wrap. Season lightly with salt and pepper.

3. Spread the mushroom ragout down the center of one of the breast halves.

4. Carefully sprinkle the transglutaminase around the edges of the  mushroom breast half.
5. Cover the mushroom breast half with the the other one, tucking it under so it makes solid contact with the transglutaminase coated areas.

6. Roll the breasts as tightly as possible into a cylinder. Tie off the ends. Place the cylinder in an airtight container and refrigerate overnight.

7. Place the chicken cylinder, still sealed in plastic wrap, in a sous vide bag and seal, removing as much air as possible without deforming the cylinder.
8. Heat a water bath to 62 C and cook the chicken cylinder for 90 minutes.
9. Remove the chicken cylinder from the water bath and unpack it. Gently dry it with paper towels.

10. Carefully slice the cylinder in 1 cm. disks. 
11. Place a bed of mushroom ragout on a plate and arrange three slices of the chicken on top.
12. Spoon some of the mushroom gravy over the slices. 
13. Serve with roasted potatoes

Shiitake Marmelade

Adapted from Modernist Cuisine At Home

Ingredients

• 300 g Shiitake Mushroom Caps
• 60 g Unsalted Butter
• 60 g Shallots, finely minced
• 100 g Water
• 36 g Soy Sauce
• 4 g Honey

Cooking Directions

1. In a food processor fitted with the steel blade mince the mushroom caps. Pulse carefully - don;t let them become a puree.
2. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat and cook the mushrooms, stirring occasionally, until they are lightly browned and rather dry.
3. Add the shallots to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until they are softened and translucent.
4. Add the water, soy sauce and honey to the pan and stir to combine.
5. Simmer until the mixture is slightly thickened.

Mushroom Ragout

Recipe by William Colsher

Ingredients

• 1.5 oz Mixed dried mushrooms
• 2 Tbs Shallots, finely minced
• 2 cups Chicken Stock
• 2 Tbs Unsalted butter
• 2 Tbs AP Flour
• Salt
• Pepper

Cooking Directions

1. Pick over the mushrooms and rinse quickly under running water then place them in a heatproof bowl.
2. Bring 1 cup of the chicken stock to a simmer and pour it over the mushrooms. They should be completely covered. If necessary set a smaller bowl in top to hold them under the liquid.
3. Let the mushrooms soak until they are completely softened.
4. Lift the mushrooms out of the stock and chop coarsely. Reserve the soaking liquid.
5. In a small saucepan melt the butter over medium heat, then add the shallots and cook until they have softened and become translucent. 
6. Add the flour and cook, stirring, for a few minutes until the flour begins to color.
7. Add the mushrooms to the roux and stir to combine.
8. Carefully strain in the reserved mushroom soaking liquid, stirring and add the remaining chicken stock
9. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat and cook until slightly reduced and thickened.
10. Season to taste.

#foodstampchallenge Wednesday Dinner

Day three is almost over. Tonight we used up the chicken meat we didn't use for chicken salad in a big frittata. It makes 4 servings, so we're good to go with leftovers for lunch for the rest of the challenge.

Ingredients:

1.5 lb potatoes, peeled and diced
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
1/2 green bell pepper, diced
1/2 large onion, diced
6-8 oz. diced chicken
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 cup chopped parsley
4 eggs
1/4 cup milk
2 Tbs grated cheese
Salt and Pepper to taste

Method:

Place an oven rack in the middle of the oven and turn on the broiler.

Heat a large frying pan over high heat and add enough oil to cover the bottom. Carefully add in the potatoes and shake the pan to distribute them evenly. Reduce the heat to medium low cover the pan and cook for about 5  minutes. Carefully remove the cover and flip the potatoes. You want to start seeing some color on 'em.

Repeat the process until the potatoes are mostly nice and brown. Season with salt a pepper to taste.

Add the onions and mix thoroughly, cover and let cook for a few minutes until the onions have softened.

Add the peppers and repeat the onion process. If the bottom seems to be getting dry add a little more oil. Watch the heat as well - regulate as needed to keep things from burning.

Add the garlic and mix well, let the mixture cook for a few minutes.

Combine the eggs, milk and parsley and whip with a fork until the eggs are a uniform color.

Off the heat pour the egg mixture over the potato mixture in the pan and tip the pan to distribute it evenly. Sprinkle the grated cheese over the frittata and place it under the broiler.

Broil the frittata until the top is golden brown and slightly puffed up

Divide into 4 sections and serve.

Total Cost $5.56/$1.39 per serving

#foodstampchallenge - Monday Lunch

Chicken Salad Sandwiches

Chicken Salad In the Buff

So... remember that chicken I poached? Half of it is going into Chicken Salad for Monday lunch. Here's how:

Ingredients:

Half of the poached chicken, diced
1 Celery Stalk diced
2 Scallions sliced into thin rounds
1 Apple peeled, cored and diced (Grapes work well also)
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tsp. mustard
2 sprigs Fresh Parsley chopped
2 sprigs Basil or other fresh herb such as tarragon chopped
Fresh ground pepper to taste
Squirt of lemon juice

Method:

Dice the chicken into 1/4" or so dice. You know, the right size for chicken salad... Do the same with the apple and the celery. Slice the scallions (white and half the green parts). Toss the apple with a squirt of lemon juice (bottled or fresh - it doesn't matter).

Dump everything into a bowl and mix well. Taste and adjust seasoning. Feel free to add a dash of hot sauce.

Cover and refrigerate overnight.

After breakfast divide the chicken salad and make several big sandwiches. Pack an apple and some carrot sticks or maybe a banana and you're good until dinner. And drink water - lots of it - at least a liter every day.

Note: I keep a variety of herbs growing all year. Use about a quarter the listed amount of dried herbs and be sure to rub them between your fingers to release their flavors as you add them.

Update: Total cost for what looks like it will actually be 4 servings is $3.21 - $0.81/ serving

#foodstampchallenge - All Purpose Poached Chicken

This is a super simple recipe that will generate a nice pile of shredded chicken and several quarts of rich chicken broth.

The Ingredients - Ready for the Pot

Ingredients:

3 Chicken Leg Quarters - about 3 pounds - or other meaty, on the bone chicken parts
1 carrot
1 celery stalk
1 bay leaf
1/2 medium onion
A few sprigs of parsley and thyme
A few black peppercorns

Method:

Rinse the chicken and trim off excess fat. Cut the carrot and celery stalk in half. If you have some cheesecloth, make a little bundle of the herbs and peppercorns.

Put everything into a large pot and cover with about 3-4 quarts of cold water. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer.

After about 30 minutes, skim the broth, removing as much scum as possible. Don't worry about the fat at this point.

Continue to cook at a simmer for another 30-45 minutes or until the chicken is completely cooked.

Remove the chicken from the broth and set aside to cool. Strain the broth into a clean bowl and let cool. Discard the vegetables and herbs.

When the broth is cool, cover it and place it in the refrigerator overnight. Separate the chicken from the bones and skin, shredding it coarsely. Place the cooled chicken in a food safe container, cover, and refrigerate until you're ready to use it.

The next day, skim any congealed fat* from the broth, pour the broth into a clean container, and refrigerate, covered until ready to use.

*Those in training to become a [your ethnic group here] Grand Mother will save the rendered fat in the 'fridge for later use.

Edit: 4:15 PM - my batch yielded just under a pound of shredded chicken and 3 quarts of broth.