This is a beautiful, classic French dish, and one that is quite quick to make and minimalistic as far as these sorts of meals go. It features a silky cream sauce, spiked with cider and cognac. The caramelized apples and shallots provide a delightful sweetness to contrast the savoury features of the portobello mushrooms, chicken, and fresh thyme. This is a wonderful meal to prepare for a dinner party or special occasion. It will blow away your guests, and you can feel happy in knowing that you didn’t even have to slave over the stove for hours! I think that it’s also a great recipe to get your feet wet if you’re just starting to get into fine cooking, and want to begin with something quite simple and easy to tackle. Finally, this dish will fill your home with the most heavenly of aromas, and is a true delight to cook.
Recipe:
Serves 4
Notes
I specify the type of salt used, as different salts are more or less salty than others. If you don’t have the same kind of salt used, be mindful of this and adjust accordingly. Generally speaking, pink Himalayan salt is less salty than most others.
I recommend serving this dish with steamed asparagus, and if you’d like to build a proper hearty or celebratory French meal, roasted cubed potatoes, and a baguette or pain de campagne to soak up the sauce.
I specify large chicken breasts only for context in understanding the cooking times. Meaning, feel free to use small or medium ones, but do be mindful in adjusting your cooking times.
I feel like I should make a note of what variety of apples to use, as I always read about which ones are best for cooking, etcetera. But, honestly…I don’t really think it matters here. I have used all sorts of apples, and they have all worked beautifully. In other words, it’s chill, use whatever you have on hand!
Remember that all stovetops are different, so whilst I provide exact times, always be mindful of the descriptions provided regarding the state of things, and adjust your times and heat if necessary to achieve the same result.
Ingredients
4 large chicken breasts
2 1/2 tsp salt (pink Himalayan)
50 cracks black pepper
36 fresh thyme sprigs
2 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup + 3 tbsp unsalted butter
2 very large shallots (125 g after peeling), medium slice (~3mm thick)
4 medium apples (~740 g before peeling), peeled, cored, medium slice (~1 cm thick)
4 portobello mushrooms (~300 g), medium slice (~3/4 cm thick)
1 cup hard apple cider
1 cup full-fat cream
3 tbsp cognac (or armagnac)
Instructions
Remove chicken from fridge and allow to come to room temperature before cooking. Evenly sprinkle 1 tsp salt, 40 cracks black pepper (5 per 1 side of breast), and the leaves of 20 fresh thyme sprigs amongst the chicken breasts, ensuring that you get both sides.
You now need to make a decision. You can either fully cook the chicken by cooking it on medium heat in the pan, and serve it with the sauce, which will be the faster method. Or, you can sear it over high heat, with the intent of undercooking it while achieving a nice browned exterior, and finish the cooking in the sauce.Heat 2 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp olive oil in a deep saucepan, over medium or high heat, according to your choice. When the butter is melted and bubbling, add the chicken. For the high heat method, sear for 5 minutes on the first side, and 3 minutes on the second side, or until both sides are golden brown. For the medium heat method, cook the chicken for 5 minutes, then increase the heat to high for 1 more minute, flip, decrease heat to medium, and cook for 5 minutes on the second side, or until both sides are golden brown, and an internal thermometer reads 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove chicken from pan and set aside.
Set heat to medium if it was on high. Take the pan off of the heat for 2 minutes to cool down if it was on high, to avoid burning what follows. With the pan back on the heat, add 1 tbsp butter, shallots, and 1/4 tsp salt. Stir, scraping the bottom of the pan for any stuck browned bits. Cook for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the shallots are golden brown (they will not be tender, however—we will be cooking them further, later on). Remove shallots, setting them aside in a medium bowl.
Increase heat to high. Add 2 tbsp butter and the apples to the pan. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 7 minutes. After these 7 minutes, add 1 more tbsp of butter. Cook for a further 3 minutes, or until golden brown (like the shallots, they will not yet be tender, however).Remove apples from pan, placing them in the same bowl as the shallots.
To the pan, add 1 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp butter, mushrooms, and 1/4 tsp salt. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove, adding the mushrooms to the bowl with the other sautéed ingredients.
Reduce heat to medium. Deglaze pan with the cider. Stir, scraping any browned bits at the bottom. Reduce the cider for 5 minutes.
Stir in cream, 1 tsp salt, cognac, the leaves from 12 sprigs of thyme, 10 cracks of black pepper, and the juices from the resting chicken. Add in the sautéed shallots, mushrooms, and apples, including any juices in the bowl. Stir.
Cook with the lid on; the timing of this will depend on the variety of your apples, your personal taste, and which method of cooking the chicken you chose. If you chose the method according to which your chicken is fully cooked, cook for about 15-25 minutes, or until your apples are fully tender. Watch this, as different varieties of apples will take more or less time to soften. Furthermore, how soft you want your apples is a matter of personal preference. If you chose the method of cooking the chicken according to which your chicken was seared and undercooked, cook for about 10-15 minutes, or until the apples are almost as soft as you would like them. After this, for this method, add the chicken, and cook for a final 10 minutes with the lid on.
Serve. Each plate should have 1—or 1/2 of a—chicken breast and 2 ladles of the shallots, mushrooms, and apples, with plenty of sauce. Garnish each plate with the remaining 4 sprigs of thyme (meaning, the leaves of 1 sprig per plate). I suggest serving this with simple steamed asparagus (don’t forget to sprinkle them with a pinch of salt). And, if you’d like to build a proper hearty or celebratory French meal, roasted cubed potatoes, and a proper baguette or pain de campagne to soak up the sauce. Oh, and a nice cold glass of cider!
Enjoy!
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