Chicken with morels and sherry wine sauce

10 mins

20 mins

Morels are fungi with a honeycomb structure and a creamy white stem. Wild morels can be found all over the British isles, but this recipe actually originates from the area of France where I grew up. I think morels are the best mushrooms in the world and, thankfully, finding them in supermarkets isn’t so hard anymore because of dried morels. I actually prefer the dried ones to fresh ones because their flavour is much stronger. The traditional Jura wine is the best option for this recipe but, if you can’t get that, a good dry sherry works very well too.

Ingredients Required

For the morels

30g: dried morels, soaked in 250ml water for at least 2 hours

4: organic/free-range chicken breasts (180g each), skinned

: sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

15g: unsalted butter

250g: firm button mushrooms, washed quickly, patted dry and quartered

120ml: dry sherry or Jura wine

400ml: double cream

For the leeks

2 medium: leeks, trimmed, cut into 2cm pieces and washed

200ml: boiling water

1 pinch: sea salt

15g: unsalted butter

Cooking Method

Step 1

Drain the morels, reserving the soaking liquor, and squeeze to extract as much of the liquor as possible. Rinse the morels, drain and squeeze dry. Cut larger morels into smaller pieces; set aside. Pass the reserved liquor through a muslin-lined sieve to remove any sand or grit and save 100 ml.

Step 2

Season the breasts with salt and pepper. In a large frying pan, melt the butter over a medium heat until it is foaming. Add the chicken breasts and colour lightly for 3 minutes on each side. Remove from the pan and reserve. In the fat remaining in the frying pan, soften the soaked morels and button mushrooms together for 1–2 minutes.

Step 3

Meanwhile, boil the sherry or wine in a small pan for 30 seconds, then add it to the mushrooms with the reserved morel liquor and a pinch of salt. Pour in the cream and bring to the boil. Place the chicken breasts back in the pan, making sure the cream sauce covers them. Lower the heat to a gentle simmer and cook for 10 minutes, depending on the size of the chicken breasts, until they are just cooked through.

Step 4

While the chicken is cooking, put the leeks into a saucepan, pour on the boiling water and add the salt and butter. Cover and cook at a full boil for 5–10 minutes until tender.

Step 5

Using a slotted spoon, lift out the chicken breasts and place in a warm dish; keep warm. Boil the sauce rapidly to reduce until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Place the chicken breasts back in the sauce to reheat for 2 minutes.

Step 6

With a slotted spoon, lift the leeks from their liquor and arrange on warmed plates. Sit the chicken breasts on top and pour the morel sauce over and around. By this time, your kitchen will be filled with heavenly smells. Accompany with a chilled bottle of Jura wine for a perfect moment. Bon appétit!

Chef's Tips

"Dried morels are highly prized by the gourmet. Conical-shaped, with a distinctive honeycomb structure, they hold sand and grit, so need to be washed a few times in freshwater to ensure they are thoroughly cleaned." "The dried morels need to be soaked for at least a couple of hours." "You can prepare the chicken half an hour in advance and warm it through in the morel sauce to serve."

Voila!

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This recipe is adapted from the book Kitchen Secrets

Raymond’s love of delicious food is lifelong. Years of experience have given him a rich store of knowledge and the skill to create fantastic dishes that work time after time. With a range of achievable and inspirational recipes for cooks of all abilities - and useful tips throughout - this book brings Gallic passion and precision into the home kitchen.