Pan seared chicken with red wine & mushrooms

Image courtesy of blog.water2wine.com

A very simple dish that focuses primarily on flavour from our sauce which is made primarily from mushroom and red wine reduction. It does take a bit of time to make the sauce, but ideally no longer than the chicken takes to cook, so it can be preapred all in one go.

I've left accompaniments absent as its quite a generic dish you can serve pretty much what you like with it. I would however reccomend mash or champ potatoes, and some root vegetables such as carrots, celeriac etc.

This recipe concentrates on doing the chicken in one pan and cooking in the oven, and using a seperate pan for the sauce. There is however nothing stopping you from doing it all in the one pan and not using the oven at all. Its up to you really. If you have a big enough pan, then go for it.

Ingredients
(serves 2)

2 Chicken breasts (skin on with wing bone) or 4 chicken thighs (deboned and skin on)
3 rashers smoked bacon (2 intact one chopped to 1cm square)
150g chopped muchrooms. (Ill leave the choice up to you but a mix of wild and closed cup works for me.)
6 shallots or 2 small onions (chopped to a 1cm dice)
Tsp tomato puree (optional)
Red wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar (3 tbsp)
Glass and a half of red wine or port
250ml chicken stock
3 cloves crushed garlic
Generous handful of rosemary & thyme
tsp demerera sugar
Salt & pepper
tbsp butter

250 ml chicken stock

Chicken

Place one rasher of bacon under the skin of each chicken breast or 1.2 of a rasher under the skin of each thigh. Add some of the herbs int he same fashion (when stripped from the stem).

Sear the chicken in a pan skin side down. When coloured flip over and repeat for underside, then put on tray or in pan in the oven at 170C until cooked. This should give you enough time to cook the sauce.

For the sauce

In a saucepan saute onions / shallots,  chopped bacon and mushrooms until coloured, then add garlic. When they all begin to soften, Add the herbs, then add the vinegar and sugar until a syrup forms, (you can add the optional tomato puree at this point) then add the wine and reduce by half. Add the stock and reduce by half once again. When the sauce has reduced enough that it tastes to yourliking, fold in a little bit of butterand keep it moving to finish the sauce.

Aromatic Mackerel Open Sandwich

More of a main course really, and ideally would be labelled as "Mackerel Fillet with rhubarb & ginger compote, on sour-dough roll garnished with truffle oil dressed rocket, & raspberry balsamic vinaigrette". Either way you wish to describe the dish, here it is. 

Posted specifically for Ben Haslehurst, appeasing his love of mackerel, here we present the dish. I have fond memories of this dish form last year, It is ideally a pleasant  lunchtime dish (as availability of rhubarb  is somewhat scarce during some periods of the year, have a look around before buying fresh rhubarb - it can be expensive if imported). That said, due to its growing in greenhouses commercially, you can probably get it at any time, especially in a can. You are aware of course, i'm not fond of the idea of using rhubarb from a can. Yet when needs must...


Ingredients:


1 large mackerel fillet (raw), bones removed.
100g butter
Salt & Pepper
Sour-dough roll
Rhubarb & Ginger Compote (see recipe)
Handful rocket
Truffle Oil
Raspberry Balsamic Vinaigrette (see recipe)


Cut the sour-dough roll in half horizontally. Dress the rocket in a mixing bowl with the truffle oil and leave to sit whilst you are busy with the next bit. 


In a frying pan add the butter and bring up to temperature (enough for the butter to melt). Season the butter with the salt & pepper, & when butter begins to brown (only begins, mind) turn pan down to simmer. Here we are simulating the butter to look like "buerre noisette". Add the mackerel to the pan and allow to sit there sizzling away for about 2 minutes. It wont be far off cooked already, & if you wish, put a lid on the pan (ensures the fish stays moist).


Toast the sour-dough roll, either in a toaster or under a grill. keep your eye on it though.  


When you have added your fish to the pan, and are letting it simmer turn your attention to the rhubarb & ginger compote. Add it to the pan with the mackerel, and when heated through, remove from the pan and  place on top of the toasted sour-dough roll, then the mackerel on top of this. 


Garnish the open sandwich with the dressed rocket on top (see picture), and drizzle balsamic vinaigrette either over the salad or around the outside.


Devour, mercilessly.