Simple Chicken and Mushroom Dinner

It is very easy, sometimes, to be overly complicated and forget that even very simple dishes cooked right can be delicious and satisfying. Cooking dinner every day I occasionally remember this philosophy and do something that I have not cooked for ages. 

A free range chicken was lurking behind a pot of yoghurt in the fridge and the plan was to something peri-peri-ish with it, or tandoori-ish, perhaps, bung it in the oven and serve it with a tomato salad. However, with sudden, unexpected sneakiness, the idea of cooking it up with mushrooms rushed into my head with such devastating results that I had picked up the chicken and boned it before I even had time to think – and why not?

There is enough here to feed six people with ease; more if you add more mushrooms.

Ingredients

First of all, if you are using a whole chicken, clean the meat from the bones and chop into small chunks. The nice thing about working like this is that you end up with a good mixture of thigh and breast meat which give a lot more flavour.

Put the bones in a saucepan with veggies like onions and carrots to make a stock.

In a large frying pan gently sortée a finely chopped onion with the crushed garlic in olive oil until the onion is clear.

Add the chicken and fry slowly till the chicken is almost cooked – turning frequently to stop the onion burning. Add the mushrooms. parsley and oregano. Continue to cook until both the mushrooms and chicken is cooked through, but not dry. Add a cup or two of the stock (or a decent stock cube made up with water) and simmer till the stock has reduced by half. Add the cream and continue to simmer.

Season lightly with salt and pepper. 

And that is that. Serve it with garlic bread and a lightly dressed green salad.

This really takes only 20 minutes to cook, so have a go. It is lovely as a spring or summer dish or for a quick lunch. If you want to vary it slightly, add paprika or chilli powder and perhaps replace the parsley with coriander leaf.