We love French cuisine! When I imagine myself in France, eating, of course, a few descriptors come to mind: rich, beautifully creamy, fine, and delicate yet well-rounded combinations of flavor.
Although we may crave something wonderfully French for dinner, we may not have loads of time to deliver a masterpiece. So, whip up our chicken breasts in white wine, mushroom, and caper sauce. In just 25 minutes, you will be enjoying those traditional flavors without the fuss!
Need-to-Know
Cuts and Cooking Time
For this recipe, you may use either chicken breasts or chicken thighs. I prefer skin-on breasts because the skin may be seared and then coated with the creamy sauce.
Cooking time will depend on the thickness of the chicken. This recipe is based on chicken breasts that are 1.5 inches (3.8 centimeters) thick.
Begin by searing the chicken for 2-3 minutes on either side to char the skin and caramelize its natural sugars. This technique is intended to create a pleasing texture. In addition, the caramelization process produces an additional layer of flavor. Transfer the breasts to the oven, and cook them until they are just undercooked. They will finish cooking in the sauce.
For chicken breasts of this thickness, 8 minutes in the oven is sufficient. For less thick chicken breasts or thighs, consider cooking in the oven for approximately 5 minutes. Use your judgment based on the chicken you purchase and the effectiveness of your oven.
Employing the Technique for a Beurre Blanc
Beurre blanc is a classic French sauce composed of butter, white wine, vinegar, and shallots with a similar consistency to Hollandaise sauce.
For a beurre blanc, shallots are cooked in white wine and vinegar and slowly reduced until dry. Then the pot is removed from its heat source while whisking cold unsalted butter cubes to emulsify.
Although we are not showing you the tricks for a perfect beurre blanc, we create this white wine mushroom sauce employing similar techniques. For instance, we reduce the acids while the shallots cook and then whisk in cold cubes of butter and other milk products to finish the sauce. However, we do not entirely reduce the wine until the shallots are dry, and we do not use the requisite amount of butter, so we cannot call this sauce a beurre blanc.
Regardless, by employing similar techniques and ingredients, it contains comparable flavors and lovely creaminess. Note that this sauce will yield an intendedly thinner consistency than beurre blanc.
Noteworthy Accompaniments
- Creamy mashed potatoes
- Roasted fingerling potatoes
- Zucchini gratin
- Sautéed green beans
- Steamed asparagus
Reheating and Storage
Store leftover chicken and mushroom sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator. You may consume it for up to 4 days. To reheat the dish, spoon onto a plate and place it in the microwave at 70% for 1 minute – 1 minute and 30 seconds.
Wine Pairing
Visit your local liquor store and request a bottle featuring these characteristics to find the perfect pair.
- Color: white
- Notes: stone fruit such as peach, and mango, honey, light oak
- Geography: old world
- Structure: medium body, medium acidity
Purge your Fridge
This recipe may leave you with some leftover heavy cream. Here are some tasty options for ridding your fridge of extra heavy cream:
- Drizzle it into whisked eggs for a frittata or quiche
- Pour a splash into mashed potatoes for a velvety texture
- Add a splash to scrambled eggs for that whipped quality
- Pour into a tomato sauce to add some creaminess
- Whisk a billowy whipped cream and top your favorite fruit
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 skin-on boneless chicken breasts
- 7 oz. shiitake mushrooms
- 1 shallot diced
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 tsp capers stored in vinegar
- 1 cup white wine
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp heavy cream
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp grapeseed oil
- 1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley roughly chopped
- 2 1/2 tsp salt 2 tsp to season chicken, 1/2 tsp to season sauce
- ground pepper
Instructions
1. Prepare Chicken and Cut Vegetables
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit (191 degrees Celsius).
- Clean and dry chicken breasts. Season with salt and ground pepper.
- Dice shallot, mince garlic, finely chop parsley, and slice shiitake mushrooms. Set aside.
2. Prepare Mushroom Sauce
- Place a pan on the stovetop at medium-low heat. Add olive oil. Allow it to heat.
- Add shallot and garlic. Sauté for 3 minutes or until fragrant.
- Add mushrooms. Sauté for 3-5 minutes.
- Season with salt and pepper. Sauté for 1 minute.
- Add white wine and lemon juice. Turn the stovetop up to medium heat. Simmer for 5-7 minutes.
3. While the Mushroom Sauce Simmers, Sear the Chicken
- Place an oven-proof pan on the stovetop at medium-high heat. Add grapeseed (or other high heat) oil. Allow the oil to heat.
- When the oil is jumping in the pan and begins to smoke, add the chicken breasts into the pan, skin side down.
- Sear for 2-3 minutes. Flip and sear for an additional 2 minutes.
- Transfer oven-proof pan to oven. Cook for 8 minutes or until the meat is just undercooked.
- Remove the pan from the oven. Set aside.
4. Finish the Mushroom Sauce
- When the sauce reduces, turn the heat on the stovetop to low.
- Whisk in cold unsalted butter, heavy cream, parsley, and capers.
- Add chicken breasts back to the sauce and cook for 2 minutes or until chicken is cooked.
5. Let’s Plate
- Place chicken breast onto a plate. Spoon the sauce over it.
- Garnish with fresh chopped flat-leaf parsley.
- Serve and enjoy.
2 Responses
Great recipe and so delicious!! Additionally, want to comment on the site, consistently great content.
Hi Eric, thank you for your comment, really appreciate your kind words and we hope you will continue to tune into our posts, a lot of great innovative recipes and articles coming soon.