The other evening my ‘need to use as a matter of urgency’ ingredients comprised of a lonely chicken breast (still attached to a carcass), and a pack of starting to wilt mushrooms. Mushroom and chicken are great food friends, and with a garlic creamy sauce it’s a classic flavour combination – but definitely not one to indulge in too often if you are trying to stick to more healthy options. Substituting the cream out is a really simple and easy swap, and personally I don’t think you compromise on flavour (providing you get the base really rich and full). I use Greek yoghurt, which is a fridge staple for me. The sauce is a bit more sour (which, personally I prefer than a richer sometimes sickly cream sauce), but this is balanced out with stock, a touch of sugar and all that lovely deep earthy flavour you get from slow cooking mushrooms). I served with green beans and Charlotte potatoes, but is super versatile! This serves 2.

Ingredients:

Chicken Breast 1
Oil
Lemon
For the sauce:
Onion 1
Garlic (1/2 bulb)
Mushrooms (I used a whole punnet)
teaspoon mustard
Chicken stock
White wine
3 generous tablespoons Greek yoghurt
Lemon thyme (or regular thyme)
Small pinch sugar

Method:

1. Heat oil in a pan. (I used the skin of the chicken breast here, and fried it in the bottom of the pan for a few minutes, just to give a bit of extra chicken-y flavour. I also then fed said leftover crispy chicken skin to my dog who definitely thought he had died and gone to doggy heaven). Otherwise use olive oil. Add 1 onion, finely chopped. I used a red as it was all I had in, but white probably better. Saute down until soft and golden.

2. Add 1/2 bulb finely chopped garlic and fry for a further 3-4 minutes on a gentle heat.

3. Add mushrooms, sliced. A pinch of salt (the salt helps the mushrooms start to let out water). Slow cook on a very low heat. I cooked my mushrooms for about 15 minutes, occasionally adding splashes of chicken stock and wine to stop sticking. (I stuck the chicken carcass in a pot of boiling water when I started cooking, so had some home made stock bubbling away. A regular stock cube will be fine here though, diluted into some warm water)

4. Add mustard, sugar and a pinch of lemon thyme if you have it (NB. I always buy fresh herbs when they are really reduced in supermarkets, then freeze them. It works better for more hardy herbs like thyme and rosemary). Then add a tablespoon of flour (I used plain, cornflower is probably best. Any will do). Add the flour to one corner of the pan, and fry it separately into a paste before stirring into the rest of the sauce (this will prevent little flour bubbles forming).

5. Continue adding the stock and wine and allowing the sauce to reduce. The sauce should be taking on a lovely thick, dark, almost ‘gravy like’ consistency at this point.

6. Meanwhile, sprinkle the chicken breast with salt and pepper. Using olive oil, fry the breast in a pan so it is golden and crispy on the outside, but still moist in the middle. Set aside to rest.
7. Take the sauce off the heat and add the yoghurt (do not do this whilst it is still cooking or the yoghurt will split).

8. Slice chicken breast and add to sauce. Serve with a slice of lemon.