Monastery-Style Chicken

Name: Monastery-Style Chicken
Cuisine: Romanian
Ingredients: 1 kg chicken meat; 400 g wild mushrooms (chanterelles); 2 onions; 3 garlic cloves; 120 ml dry white wine; 300 ml sour cream; 1 heaping tablespoon all-purpose flour; 1/2 bunch parsley; a few sprigs of dill; 4 tablespoons oil; salt, pepper; chicken seasoning; 1 level teaspoon black pepper; 1 level teaspoon salt; 1 heaping teaspoon sweet paprika; 1 teaspoon dried thyme

August 30, 2010

Chicken Meat Dishes Romanian Mushrooms

I adapted the monastery-style chicken recipe from Radu Anton Roman's Stories of Romanian Cuisine and here's what came out. The biggest change is that I thickened the sauce with a little flour, while his recipe specifies 2-3 eggs beaten with sour cream and added to the dish. You do as you wish.

Ingredients

1 kg chicken meat
400 g wild mushrooms (chanterelles)
2 onions
3 garlic cloves
120 ml dry white wine
300 ml sour cream
1 heaping tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/2 bunch parsley
a few sprigs of dill
4 tablespoons oil
salt, pepper

Chicken seasoning

1 level teaspoon black pepper
1 level teaspoon salt
1 heaping teaspoon sweet paprika
1 teaspoon dried thyme

How to prepare monastery-style chicken

You can use any type of chicken meat. I butchered a free-range chicken from my grandmother and used only the legs, wings without tips, and the breast deboned and cut into suitable pieces for this dish.
Grind the chicken seasonings in a coffee grinder. Sprinkle the meat pieces with the seasoning.
Fry the chicken in 2 tablespoons of hot oil over medium heat on both sides until golden. Deglaze with 1 cup of water and reduce the heat to low. Simmer covered for about 45 minutes (if using free-range chicken) or only 30 minutes if using store-bought chicken.
Meanwhile, sauté the finely chopped onions in the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil. When softened, add the mushrooms and sauté for another 2-3 minutes. Deglaze everything with wine and 1/2 cup of water and bring to a boil for 5 minutes. Add the crushed garlic.
Pour the mushroom sauce over the chicken, plus 3 tablespoons of sour cream. Taste the sauce for salt and pepper and add more if needed. Bring everything to a boil and let simmer on low heat for another 30 minutes.
At the end, add the remaining sour cream mixed with flour and the finely chopped herbs. Let it boil 2-3 more times until the sauce thickens and turn off the heat.
Serve with polenta.