Preparation for this dish is quick, and you should expect about an hour of total prep and cooking time.
For ingredients you will want:
1 4-pound farm fresh chicken
1 whole, entire stick of butter. Get over it, you don’t eat morels every day.
2 tbsp of vegetable oil, some people say to use an oil like peanut because it doesn’t smoke
I know I shouldn’t, but I still use olive oil for this kind of thing.
2 shallots, chopped
1/2 bottle of white wine or just a touch less dry vermouth
1/2 pound of fresh morels, or 3 ounces dried (this is an optimal amount, it is okay to have a little less)
1 tbsp white wine vinager
1 cup of crème fraiche, or heavy cream
salt, pepper and a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
Joint and season your chicken. How many pieces you cut is up to you and how many people you have eating. Heat your butter and oil in a fireproof casserole on the stove top. I tend to bring this up to a pretty good temperature. I find that’s better for browning chicken, which is what we’re doing in this case.
So, brown your chicken on all sides. Don’t worry if it doesn’t all fit in at once. Don’t crowd it. You want the oil to keep it’s temperature. Then the chicken will sear nicely and it won’t stick. Set aside the chicken pieces after they have browned.
Next, take your shallots. Let the oil cool just a bit. You don’t want these just to brown up. After a minute or so off the burner, put your casserole back on and toss in your shallots. When they’re fragrant, put the chicken back in along with any accumulated juices. That’s flavor. Don’t waste it.
Pour a 1/2 cup of the white wine or vermouth in as well, lower the heat, cover, and let cook gently for 20 minutes, turning the chicken once or twice.
Now, if you are using fresh morels, and that is the point of today’s show, afterall, cut off the stalks, cut the mushrooms to relatively the same size as the smaller, and soak in water with the vinegar. Rinse them several times and set aside on a towel. If you are using dried, you will need to rehydrate them for 15 minutes or so.
Meanwhile, bring the remainder of the wine up to almost a boil. Once the chicken has hit the 20 minute mark, you will add the morels and the wine to the casserole, and simmer uncover for about 15 minutes.
Transfer the chicken pieces to a heated serving plate. Add your crème fraiche to the liquid in the casserole, and stir until thick. I wouldn’t let it boil. About five minutes. Taste and season.
Now, pour that on your chicken and do a little dance. Or a big triumph dance if you’d rather. Your friends and loved ones will worship you.
One quick note, while this has long since been adapted to my own weird cooking style, I certainly owe much of what I know about cooking and the very fundamentals (and ingredients set) of this dish to Jean Ferniot’s absolutely brilliant book French Regional Cooking.