A comforting and nourishing Braised Chicken with Mushrooms, Potatoes & Thyme. The chicken is succulent and tender, and the sauce is delicious served with fresh crusty bread.
When hubby is on his own, he tends to cook really simple food like pasta. Just pasta. Oh and maybe a grating of parmesan cheese if there happens to be some in the fridge. Or he might just boil potatoes. Or he goes all out and raids my cookbook collection to produce something really elaborate and exquisite, and will then cheekily send me a photo to show me what I’m missing out on.
After a recent brief spell on his own, I came home to find a 2kg bag of potatoes in the kitchen. They had been sitting there for a bit and I felt I had to do something with them tonight or else they were destined for the compost.
Braised Chicken with Mushrooms, Potatoes & Thyme sounds like a winter comfort dish, but this is something I love to sit down to, whatever the season.
What is Braised Chicken?
Braising involves browning the meat first in some oil in a hot pan, and then cooking the meat in a small amount of liquid until it is tender.
Up until a few years ago, it was very difficult to find chicken thighs in Zurich, so I often made this dish with chicken maryland pieces (the thigh with the drumstick attached).
Since then, chicken thighs have become more readily available in Zurich, though they are almost always sold with the skin on and bone in, which makes them perfect for braising.
For a quicker meal, you could use skinless and boneless chicken thigh fillets (as shown in these photos) which require less cooking time.
This is truly a comforting mid-week meal.
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Braised Chicken with Mushrooms, Potatoes and Thyme
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 45 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 mins
- Yield: Serves 3 to 4
A comforting and nourishing Braised Chicken with Mushrooms, Potatoes & Thyme. The chicken is succulent and tender, and the sauce is delicious served with fresh crusty bread.
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RateIngredients
- 50 g (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 brown onion, finely sliced
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 3–4 large sprigs of thyme
- 500 g (1 lb) button mushrooms, left whole if small or quartered if large
- 85 ml (1/3 cup) dry white wine
- 500 g (1 lb, or about 1 per person) chicken thighs, with skin and bone in,
- 2 tablespoons plain flour
- 750 ml (3 cups) chicken stock
- 6–8 large potatoes, peeled and quartered
- 300 g green beans, trimmed
- 85 ml (1/3 cup) double cream (heavy cream)
- sea salt & pepper for seasoning
Instructions
- In a large cast-iron pan, heat the butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat.
- Add the onions, garlic and thyme, together with a pinch of sea salt, and cook for about 5 minutes until the onions have softened.
- Add the mushrooms and cook for a few minutes until they have softened a little.
- Add the wine and cook for about a minute, before removing the contents of the pan to a bowl.
- Heat the remaining oil in the pan and brown the chicken thighs, starting with the skin side down first.
- Remove the chicken to a plate.
- Stir the flour into the pan and cook it for a few minutes.
- Add some stock to the pan and stir gently as the sauce thickens, scraping any bits from the bottom of the pan.
- Slowly add the rest of the stock, stirring as you do.
- Return the mushroom and onion mixture to the pot and add the potatoes.
- If you are using chicken thighs with the skin on, sit the chicken thighs on top of the ingredients, and try to keep the meat submerged in the liquid, but the skin should not touch the liquid if you want it to remain crispy.
- Turn the heat down to low with the lid partially on.
- Simmer for about 15 minutes until the potatoes are cooked. You can test if the potatoes are done by inserting skewer into the middle of a piece. The chicken thighs should have also cooked through during this time, but it is worth checking.
- Remove the thyme stalks, by which time all of the leaves will have fallen off.
- Stir the cream into the sauce.
- Add the beans and cook for about 5 minutes, uncovered, until the beans are tender.
- Taste for seasoning.
- Serve with fresh crusty bread.
Kitchen Notes
You can also use chicken thigh fillets in this recipe, but they will take less time to cook.
It’s up to you if you choose to use chicken thighs with or without skin. I find that rendering the fat in the skin adds flavour to the dish.
Feel free to use other vegetables in this dish. Carrots, peas and broccoli also work well in this recipe.
CONVERSIONS
To convert from cups to grams, and vice-versa, please see this handy Conversion Chart for Basic Ingredients.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
- Calories: 514
- Sugar: 9.6g
- Sodium: 413mg
- Fat: 29.2g
- Carbohydrates: 28g
- Fiber: 4.7g
- Protein: 36.4g
- Cholesterol: 162.3mg
That looks so comforting and homely. And I mean that as the highest compliment. That is the stuff that dream mid-week meals after a busy day at work are made of.
Oh thanks Mandy! Lovely to see you here 🙂 This is indeed a meal I love to come home to during the week and, thankfully, it’s fairly quick to put together 🙂
Hello, thank you for finding my blog. Lovely to find yours. That’s odd about chicken thighs. I wonder if locals even notice? It’s one of my favourite cuts of meat so I would be lost without it. I will have to try this amazing recipe next time. Just perfect for our chilly weather!
Julia, thanks for visiting! I’m not sure if the Swiss typically eat chicken thighs – chicken breast fillets and Maryland pieces tend to be the most popular. It’s hit and miss if I see chicken thighs in the supermarket, and usually when I do, I will buy a few packets just to put away in the freezer! Enjoy the Brisbane winter – as mild as it is, it is far better than the high 30s I am currently experiencing in the mid-west!
I can’t believe I’ve never stumbled upon your blog before!! It’s nice to see so many asian-inspired recipes 🙂
I have to give you kudos for turning 2 kg worth of potatoes into an awesome comfort meal. And yes, totally agree with you on eating winter dishes throughout all seasons…!
I’m thrilled that you’ve stumbled upon my blog! 🙂 It’s relatively new and I hope to post quite a bit more soon … am travelling at the moment in the US so it’s a bit difficult! Hope to see you here again 🙂 Meanwhile, I will have to go and visit your site …
Love this recipe! Looks yummy! Thank you for sharing this great recipe! YUM!
★★★★★