Friday, March 8, 2013

Skillet Provincal

I've been making Chicken Provincal for decades from an old recipe I found on a cooking wine bottle.  Or at least I think it was a cooking wine bottle.  I transcribed it by hand so I didn't get it from a magazine and the internet didn't exist yet.  But I digress....

Divine Health posted a recipe for Skillet Stew which gave me the idea of doing my Provincal recipe as a skillet dish.  It got two thumbs up from hubs and one from the kid so this is a keeper.

Since I just got an Herbs de Provence herb mix from the farmers market, I decided to use that for seasoning.  If you don't have any use a mix of: marjoram, tarragon, thyme and lavender.  The lavender is optional but adds a nice flavor.

Ingredients:
serves three

4T organic non-GMO corn starch or arrowroot powder
1t sea salt
1/2t pepper
1T herbs de provence

1-1.5lbs chicken breast

1 large portabello mushroom cap
2 large carrots
1/2 a medium onion or two shallots

1T lard or tallow
2T ghee
1/4-1/2c cooking sherry
1c Basic Chicken Stock
1c filtered water
1/2c sour cream or plain yogurt


  1. Mix corn starch, salt, pepper and herbs in a dish or ziplock bag.  If the herbs are large crush fine with a mortar and pestle first.  Mix well.
  2. Rinse chicken and pat dry. Drop in flour mixture, close bag tightly and shake to coat chicken evenly.  Set aside.
  3. Finely dice mushroom, onion and carrot.  
  4. Melt lard and 1T ghee in skillet.  When fat is hot add chicken.  Fry until brown then flip over.  Should be about 5mins a side.  Remove from pan and set aside.
  5. Melt 1T ghee in pan and add vegetables.  Fry until soft and juices start to be released.  If mix gets too dry add more ghee.  The mushrooms tend to absorb liquids.  The trick is to not let the fond burn.
  6. Add sherry in shots and use to deglaze pan.  Only add enough to get the browned bits (fond) up off the pan bottom.  Let sherry boil off.
  7. Add chicken back in.  Add chicken stock and water.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat.  Cover and simmer for half an hour.
  8. Remove from heat and stir in sour cream.  Serve over rice or with mashed potatoes or mashed cauliflower.