Chestnuts and Mushroom Stuffed Chicken is served over a luxurious cognac reduction. It’s an easy and elegant one pan meal for Passover and year round!
For Passover, we need to set a different type of table; a table different from all other tables, served with a little elegance and a little flare. The Passover Seder meal is lavish; a dinner where the host or hostess pulls out all the stops. As a hostess, I want to create a main course that’s impressive, easy to make with a quick, one pan clean up. After all, why SHOULD this night different from all other nights? Who wants to wash all those dishes afterwards?? There are so many moving pieces to a Seder, I want a main dish I can prep ahead of time. For this year’s Seder, I’m cooking my Chestnut and Mushroom Stuffed Chicken with tarragon cognac reduction; the embodiment of comfort, elegance, and simplicity all in one.
Chestnut and Mushroom Stuffed Chicken is an elegant one pan meal.
Ok. Hard stop. What did she say? Now, I know….you had to reread that sentence a few times. You’re questioning my standards of simple. How could this be simple, not long to cook, and made in one pan?! I promise you, it’s all true. This chicken dish will become a recipe you cook over and over again because it can be easily prepped ahead of time and cooked off before dinner. The cognac adds a rich, caramel flavor, balancing the earthiness of the mushrooms and the tarragon adds brightness. You can butterfly the chicken breasts yourself (see crash course cooking school) or buy them butterflied from the butcher.
If you don’t want to reenact a scene from The French Chef and butterfly a chicken breast, no worries! You can swap the chicken breasts for skin-on boneless chicken thighs and follow the recipe as instructed.
Serve this stuffed chicken alongside creamy mashed potatoes to sop up all that gorgeous, cognac reduction and a green salad for some fresh crunch.
You can also find this recipe in Whisk Magazine’s mushroom issue.
Crash Course Cooking School: stuffed chicken breasts:
The Building Blocks:
The cooking method for this dish is butterfly chicken breasts, add filling, roll, sear, bake, and create sauce with pan drippings.
The Details:
Prepping the chicken breast: You need a sharp paring knife, a meat tenderizer, cutting board, and some plastic wrap. Begin by turning the chicken breast on its side, the thicker side facing up. Slowly cut into the thicker side in small, shallow strokes until the breast starts to open up like a book. Continue slowly slicing the breast until it opens and almost lays flat. Carefully wrap plastic wrap over the chicken breast and board. Begin gently flattening the meat with the tenderizer (the tenderizer should have a flat/smooth side intended for chicken). Flatten the chicken until it is about 1/4 inch thick.
Filling: Create your own fillings! Try using herbs, breadcrumbs, spinach, caramelized onions, and garlic.
Alcohol: Depending on your choice of filling, use white wine, red, wine, vermouth, or even chicken stock.
Herbs: Pick an herb that works well with your filling profile for both the stuffing and sauce. Example, tarragon pairs well with mushrooms, potatoes and spinach but so does rosemary and thyme.
Chestnut and Mushroom Stuffed Chicken
Ingredients
- 20 oz. dried porcini mushrooms see note
- 2 cups warm water
- 3 tablespoons + 3 tablespoons olive oil divided
- 4 large shallots minced
- 6 cloves garlic minced (about 4 tablespoons)
- 10 oz. baby bella mushrooms cut in 1-inch pieces
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon dried tarragon
- 1½ teaspoons fresh tarragon minced
- 2 teaspoons dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt plus more to taste
- 2 3.5-oz. packages chestnuts (such as Tuscanini), mashed with a fork
- ¼ cup panko bread crumbs or matzah meal
- 6 chicken breasts butterflied and pounded to ¼ inch thick or 6 skin-on boneless chicken thighs
- ½ cup Cognac see note
- 2½ cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable stock
- 4 5-inch sprigs of fresh tarragon
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch or potato starch
- 2 tablespoons salted butter alternative such as Earth Balance or Smart Balance olive oil spread
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Place dried porcini mushrooms in a heat-safe bowl and pour the water over them. Steep for 10 minutes or until soft. Let cool. Gently squeeze excess water back into the bowl (once strained, this will be your mushroom stock for step 7). Mince the mushrooms and set aside.
- Fold a thin kitchen towel in half over a measuring cup. Slowly pour the liquid through the towel to strain it (you can also use cheesecloth). Set the mushroom stock aside.
- In a 12-inch skillet, heat 3 tablespoons oil over medium heat. Add shallots and cook for 2 minutes, until they begin to brown. Add garlic and cook for a few seconds, until fragrant.
- Add baby bella mushrooms and cook 2–4 minutes, until they’ve released their liquid and browned. Add porcini mushrooms (from step 1) and cook for 1 minute. Stir in Worcestershire sauce.
- Crush the dried tarragon between your fingers and add it to the skillet. Add the fresh tarragon, thyme, garlic powder, and salt. Stir again and remove from the heat.
- Stir in chestnuts, panko, and 4–6 tablespoons of the reserved mushroom stock (from step 2). The filling should be moist but not wet.
- Divide the contents of the skillet into six equal portions. Working with one chicken breast at a time, spread a potion of filling along the length of the breast and carefully roll it up. Secure with two toothpicks. Repeat with remaining chicken breasts and filling.
- Place in a covered dish and refrigerate for 1 hour or overnight.
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- In a 12-inch skillet, heat remaining 3 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat. When the oil is shimmering, add the chicken. Cook 1–2 minutes per side, until golden brown.
- Cover the skillet with an oven-safe lid and place in the oven. Cook 15 minutes, then transfer the skillet from the oven to the stove. Remove the toothpicks and discard.
- Add the Cognac over medium heat. As it begins to simmer, scrape up any brown bits from the pan. Add the chicken or vegetable stock and sprigs of fresh tarragon, and simmer for 2 minutes, until the liquid has reduced by half.
- Remove 2 tablespoons of sauce from the skillet and add to a small bowl. Add the cornstarch and whisk together until smooth to create a slurry. Add the slurry to the skillet and simmer for 1 minute, or until the sauce has thickened. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter alternative. Taste and season with salt as needed.
- Remove the chicken to a cutting board and slice. Arrange the slices on a serving platter and spoon sauce over them (alternately, you can put a few slices on each plate with the sauce underneath, as pictured). Sprinkle with parsley (if using) and serve.
Notes
- I highly encourage using dried porcini mushrooms, as listed, to deepen the flavor of this dish. If you can’t find them, substitute any fresh mushrooms and use extra chicken stock instead of mushroom stock.
- If you don’t have cognac, you can use dry white wine.
- Don’t want to butterfly chicken breasts? Use skin-on chicken breasts and stuff the filling under the skin or skin-on boneless chicken thighs
- Make this recipe Passover friendly swap the breadcrumbs for matzah meal and cornstarch for potato starch.
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