Chicken Madison

Just yesterday I came across a post on a blog I read called Feasts and Fotos, while going through my google reader.  The post was for Chicken Madison and I was drooling over Susan's photos.  Susan has tons of great recipes and photos on her blog.  If you haven't been there before be sure to check it out.  She and I seem to like a lot of the same food and we don't live too far from each other (Susan, we should meet for dinner one day!).  I would love to try her Lentil and Sausage Stew, Fusilli with Sausage and Artichokes, and her Potato Fennel and Leek Soup.  I could search her blog all day and bookmark recipes!   Okay so back to the chicken.  Her recipe was incredibly simple and I had pretty much everything on hand to make it.  I had to make a couple of simple substitutions for example I used the dry sundried tomatoes because I was out of the ones that are packed in oil.  I didn't have anymore fresh parsley but I had some scallions which I threw in.  I had the cremini mushrooms and a half a package of shitake's so I tossed those in as well.  The result was a delicious tender chicken in a flavorful sauce that I put over some buttered orzo.  Susan served hers over creamy white bean puree which she promises to post soon.  I bet that is out of this world! One thing to keep in mind that if you are using very thin sliced cutlets like I did you will not need to cook it for 20 minutes at the end like the recipe states.  I found that the chicken was almost completely cooked from browning it and only simmered it in the pan sauce for as long as it took the orzo to cook which was about 8 minutes.  I will definitely be making this again and I hope you'll give it a try as well!

Chicken Madison

From Feasts and Fotos

Ingredients:

6 thin chicken cutlets ( cut in 1/2 down the center)
whole wheat flour
4 cloves garlic, smashed
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 box crimini mushrooms, cleaned and sliced (not too thin)
1 12 oz bag of frozen artichoke hearts, slightly defrosted, cut in half lengthwise
1 Tbsp tomato paste

1  7 ounce jar of sun dried tomatoes, drained and sliced, 2-3 tbsp of oil reserved

1/2 – 3/4 cup white wine

3/4 – 1 cup chicken stock, low sodium

1 tsp fresh thyme, chopped

1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Salt & Pepper

Olive oil

1 Tbsp butter, optional

Directions: 

Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add 2 smashed garlic cloves, to season the oil.  Season chicken with salt & pepper and coat in the flour, tapping off excess.  Add some of the chicken to oil, being sure not to overcrowd the pan, cooking them until golden brown on each side.  Remove from skillet and transfer to a plate.  Be careful to watch the cloves of garlic and be sure to remove them once they appear to be getting too golden.  You don’t want them to burn.  Repeat with remaining chicken and smashed garlic.

In the same skillet you just cooked all the chicken in add the oil you reserved from the sun dried tomatoes.  Into that oil add the artichoke hearts and cook, stirring occasionally, for 3-4 minutes.  To the artichokes add the sliced mushrooms and cook for 3-4 minutes, or until they start to soften a bit.  Next, add the tomato paste and garlic and stir into the vegetables, cooking for 2-3 minutes.  At this point I usually add some salt and pepper.  Next comes the liquids…add the wine first, allowing it to simmer for a few minutes.  Finally add the chicken stock and the fresh thyme.  Allow liquids to simmer together for 4-5 minutes.  To thicken this liquid mixture a bit, add approximately 1-2 tablespoons of the leftover whole wheat flour to the skillet, whisking to mix.

Add the chicken cutlets back into the skillet, nestling them all in under the veggies, gently, as best as you can.  Ideally you want most of the chicken to be submerged into the liquid.  It is ok if the tops of a few pieces are not submerged.  If you feel you need a bit more liquid, add some more chicken stock.  Put a cover on the skillet, lower heat to low and gently simmer for 15 – 20 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through.  Once cooked, turn off heat and add the parsley.  If you so choose, you can also add the butter, just to finish the sauce a bit.  A little tablespoon of butter won’t hurt!