by Susan Hanna
Serves 4.
This French bistro-style recipe from Bon Appetit makes a lovely dinner party entrée. You can make the delicious sauce in advance, which is a bonus when entertaining. If you don’t have a barbecue, you can bake the chicken in the oven and then proceed to the broiling step. This is great with steamed green beans and mashed potatoes, which soak up all the lovely sauce.
Avoiding Additives and Preservatives
Butter, white wine, purchased chicken stock and Dijon mustard can contain colour, sulfites, sodium benzoate and artificial colour and flavour. I use Gay Lea unsalted butter, which has a single ingredient: cream. If you are sensitive to sulfites, look for a white wine with fewer than 10 parts per million. I use Imagine chicken stock and President’s Choice Old-Fashioned Dijon. For more recipes using all-natural ingredients, visit www.eyeforarecipe.ca.
Ingredients:
- 2 tbsp (30 ml) unsalted butter
- 5 shallots, coarsely chopped
- 5 large mushrooms, quartered
- 5 tsp (25 ml) cracked black pepper
- 1 cup (250 ml) dry white wine
- 5 fresh rosemary sprigs
- 5 fresh thyme sprigs
- 2 cups (500 ml) chicken stock
- 8 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
- ¼ cup (60 ml) Dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) whole yellow mustard seeds
- ½ tsp (2.5 ml) minced fresh thyme
Preparation:
Melt 1 tbsp (30 ml) butter in heavy large skillet over medium high heat. Add shallots, mushrooms and 1 tsp (5 ml) pepper and sauté until vegetables brown, about 8 minutes. Add wine and bring to boil. Add rosemary and thyme sprigs and simmer 5 minutes. Add stock, increase heat to medium high and boil until liquid is reduced to ¾ cup (180 ml), about 20 minutes. Strain into saucepan (can be made 1 day ahead. cover and refrigerate).
Prepare barbecue (medium high heat). Sprinkle remaining 4 tsp (20 ml) pepper over both sides of chicken. Grill chicken until cooked through, about 5-10 minutes per side. Transfer to baking sheet.
Preheat broiler. Brush mustard over chicken. Sprinkle with mustard seeds. Broil until brown, about 2 minutes.
Meanwhile, bring sauce to simmer. Add minced thyme and remaining 1 tbsp (15 ml) butter; whisk until melted.
Divide chicken among plates. Spoon herb sauce around chicken.
From Bon Appetit
