FORAGE: Wild Blewits & Braised Chicken Thighs, White Wine Cream Sauce, and Kale Orzo
Did you luck into a treasure trove of wild purple-hued blewit mushrooms, and you’re looking for a special recipe to showcase them? This rich but simple dish combines sauteed mushrooms with braised chicken thighs (either fresh or home-canned whole or boneless thighs) and a white wine cream sauce. It’s served on a bed of Parmesan and kale orzo, and it’s absolutely delicous.
Don’t have a source for wild blewits, either bought or foraged? You can still make this dish with wild or cultivated oyster mushrooms, or even cremini or sliced portabello mushrooms. You could even use button mushrooms in a pinch, though it will lack some of the depth of flavor that the wild ones give to this dish. You could even leave out the chicken and make a vegetarian version! Mushrooms, cream, white wine, chicken and nutty Parmesan cheese are always a winning combination.
Wild Blewit Mushrooms, Braised Chicken Thighs, White Wine Cream Sauce, and Kale Orzo
Ingredients
- 1 lb chicken thighs home canned or fresh, boneless or bone-in
- 8 oz blewit mushrooms, brushed clean and sliced thickly can substitute button or cremini
- 1 medium onion, small diced white, yellow, or sweet
- 4 tbsp butter
- 3 tsp thyme, fresh (can sub. ¾-1 tsp dried)
- 4 tbsp chives, fresh can sub minced scallions if chives are not available (do not use dried chives if possible)
- 2 oz white wine
- 4 oz half and half (divided, half for chicken/onion and half for orzo) can sub whole milk or heavy cream
- 8 oz kale, frozen or fresh washed and chopped
- 16 oz dried orzo one box
- 4 oz grated Parmesan cheese
- to taste salt and pepper
Instructions
- Prep ingredients- slice mushrooms, mince herbs, and peel and small dice the onion. Bring a pot with 2-3 quarts of salted water to a boil for the orzo.
- If you are using fresh chicken thighs, season them lightly with salt and pepper and brown them in a heavy pan over medium high heat. Then reduce the heat to medium low, add the onions and proceed as below. If you are using canned chicken, sweat the onions first, then add the wine and cream, and the chicken last as it is very delicate and already fully cooked- you just need to warm it through.
- Sweat the onion with a tbsp of butter, a pinch of salt and fresh ground black pepper, and ½ tsp fresh thyme leaves. Add the wine to the pan to deglaze and then the cream once the wine starts to simmer. You can add a splash of chicken stock as needed if you are using fresh thighs (the canned are already in stock so should have plenty of moisture for the sauce).
- Dry saute the mushroom slices over medium heat for a few minutes. When you have cooked off most of the liquid, add a tbsp of butter and some herbs to the pan.
- Salt and pepper mushrooms to taste and saute lightly until they are golden brown around the edges. Ladle a small scoop of the liquid from the chicken and onions to deglaze the pan (about 2-3 oz). Taste and adjust seasoning if needed and keep warm.
- Cook the orzo in boiling water as directed on the package, adding the kale (fresh chopped or frozen) to the pasta water during the last minute or two of cooking.
- Drain any excess liquid and return the kale and orzo to the pan and quickly stir in the remaining butter, a splash of half and half or milk, and the grated Parmesan cheese. Season with fresh black pepper and 2 tablespoons of fresh chives.
- Divide and serve the chicken topped with the mushrooms on a bed of the Parmesan kale orzo in wide bowls or deep plates. Garnish with fresh chives.
