The delightful Creamy Chicken and Mushroom Sauce

Buying ready made sauce is almost a 'no  no ' for me as most of them contain sugar which I feel is so unnecessary. I have been transformed from a shopper that only reads the front labels on jars to one that reads both front and back. It no longer shocks me to see that sugar is added to savory sauces and in some cases is listed as one of the first three ingredients.
I made a firm decision to make my sauces from scratch. I suppose the love for cooking made the transition from cooking with ready made sauces to DIY relatively easy despite  juggling work and family life.

I found the making Creamy Chicken and Mushroom sauce straight forward and not too time consuming. It was great that everyone in the family enjoyed it despite varying palate. Packed with vitamins and minerals, I particularly love the versatility that mushroom affords, in addition, nutrients such as B vitamins, Riboflavin ( maintains healthy red blood cells), Pantothenic acid (helps with hormone production) and Niacin ( helps with the function of healthy digestive and nervous system and also promotes healthy skin) are present. Mushroom also contain minerals including Selenium (antioxidant) , Ergothioneine(antioxidant)  and Potassium.

Here is the recipe for the delicious creamy chicken and mushroom sauce.

Ingredients

Serves 2

·             5 g  dried wild mushrooms

·             3 tbsp olive oil

·             2 chicken breasts

·             Black Pepper

·             1 large onion, finely sliced

·             4 garlic cloves, chopped

·             100g  chestnut mushrooms, sliced

·             100ml hot chicken stock

·             10g pack fresh tarragon leaves, picked and chopped

·             90g half fat creme fraiche  

Instructions

1. Hydrate the dry mushroom by soaking them in boiling water for 15 minutes. Reserve the liquid for later inclusion in the sauce.

2. Meanwhile, heat the 3 tbsp of olive oil in a pan over a medium-high heat. Season the chicken on both sides with black pepper and then fry for 5 minutes. Turn the breasts over and fry for another 4 minutes and remove from the pan.

Add the onion to the pan and fry for 3-4 minutes followed by chestnut mushrooms then fry for a further 3 minutes. Add the garlic and the hydrated chopped mushrooms and fry for 1 minute.

Pour in the liquid from the mushroom and the hot stock and two thirds of the chopped tarragon. Return the browned chicken pieces to the pan. Bring to the boil then turn down the heat and simmer for 10 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.

Stir in the crème fraîche and warm ensuring that sauce does not boil. Scatter over the rest of the tarragon.

The sauce is quite versatile, I chose to accompany my meal with rice and green beans. My family thoroughly enjoyed it.

Bon Appetit!