Mushroom Chicken with Parmesan Sauce

When it comes to bird, I’m a fan of dark meat. It’s flavorful and cooks well. I’m also a foodie, which means I’m always looking for new ways to prepare food. On this particular day, I have chicken thighs, I have a few recipes here to cook them: curried, slow cooker, pan seared. But I wanted to come up with something different. I’ve written about balancing time in the kitchen v’s our busy lives, but we also need to look at the time spent preparing a dish v’s the finished product. If a dish comes out really good, it’s worth the time to cook it. So, here I have mushroom chicken with parmesan sauce, delicious.

When it comes to leg and thigh meat, it’s not quite as healthy as breast meat. Slightly higher in fat, and carbs, protein is about the same. That being said, it’s still healthier than red meat. What dark meat brings to the table is flavor, and to me, that makes up for everything. Because these are muscles that get used a lot, they have connective tissue that needs to break down, that requires a little more time over the heat. Braising is the best way to do this. The comparison is that when I cut breast meat into similar sized pieces it will only take half the time to cook.

The other thing that happens when cooking a little longer is that flavors get to develop. That is always a good thing. For this a spice pack has to be put together and the meat and spices need some time to get to know each other. I’ll keep things relatively simple. Obviously garlic powder, and ground red pepper flakes for some warmth, just a sprinkle, a little goes a long way. Parsley and oregano round out the spices for the earthy tones. The meat is skinless and boneless and cut into medium sized cubes, mix well with the spices and allow to relax in the fridge a bit. 15 mins or so is fine. Remember to wash up well after handling raw meat. Please read my post on safe food prep

Preheat a pan over medium heat, add olive oil, when hot, add the chicken and mushrooms. Stir well to coat with oil, cover, lower the heat, stirring occasionally to prevent burning. While that’s doing it’s thing, time to make the gravy. It starts with a roux. The regular roux ratio is 1:1:1, as in 1 tablespoon fat (butter) 1 tablespoon flour and 1 cup liquid (in this case chicken broth). However, I want my sauce to be thick, so I’ll double the butter and flour, but still use 1 cup broth. The secret to a good roux is stirring and lots of it. It may be work, but it’s worth it.

Melt the butter over low heat, add the flour and whisk to mix, continue for another 5 mins to cook the flour. Now slowly add the broth while whisking to prevent clumping, raise the heat till it starts to bubble while whisking, And that’s it, remove from the heat. Now add the cheese, stirring till melted. You should have a thick cheesy gravy.

By this time the chicken should be done. And while all that was going on, the pasta should be done too. Drain the pasta, dress with a little olive oil, garlic powder and pepper. I don’t add salt because the pasta cooked in salt water and I’m cutting down on sodium. Plate the pasta, put the chicken on top, pour some gravy over everything and enjoy mushroom chicken with parmesan sauce. Thank you for reading.