Seared chicken with mushrooms and cheese.

so i decided to cook something a little more complicated ant tasty last night. The urge to make something delicious and beautiful was to much so i went with it. This recipe is not that expensive but does take some time and a fair amount skill in the kitchen, but if you can pull it off its beautiful. it is very important to have every thing cut measured and ready to go before you start, this recipe may start off slow but it comes together at the end very quickly.

Ingredients

porteballa mushrooms one big cap
1/2 medium onion
5-6 smaller carrots
2 chicken thighs bone in
1 small leek
1/2 table spoon balsamic vinegar (this stuff can get pricey but the good stuff is defiantly worth it)
course ground sea salt ( not to be confused with finishing salt)
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon basil (dried if you have fresh available use 3-4 ;eaves chopped)
1 teaspoon parsley 9 dries if fresh is available use 1/4 bunch chopped nice and small)
1/8 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup white wine
cheese of your choice i would use a bleu cheese or a soft aged cheese. i used a bleu cheese aged with garlic and fine herbs and it worked beautiful
one green onion
butter
4-6 pieces prosciutto

Equipment

one large sautee pan
one medium pot
one strainer
rubber spatula
tongs ( can use spatula but makes life easier)
Putting it together

chop mushroom in to small chunks abut the size of your thumb nail
dice onion down to the size of raisins
take leek and cut off all green parts split down the middle long way then cut in to thin half moons( make sure to wash these after cutting they can be very dirty)
cut carrots into small even shapes ( i did coins cuz i think they look good but have fun with it just makes sure they are all consistent and not to thick so they cook properly)
chop herbs if you are using fresh if not then measure out all dry herbs and spices( you can combine these together because they all go in the same time)
chop prosciutto in to quarter size pieces
add wine to medium pot and add three or four cups over water and put it on high on the stove. when this comes to a boil add the carrots
melt butter in sautee pan over medium low heat add prosciutto, onions, mushrooms and leeks this is going to cook over low heat until everything is nice and caramelized( you might need to add 1/8 cup water one or two times if the bottom of the pan goes from a nice brown color to black add 1/8 cup water if something smells burnt do the same you want the pan to have some moisture in it but not much
when everything is a dark luscious brown and the bottom of the pan is brown add 1/4 cup water turn heat to high and scrape the bottom of the pan with the rubber spatula untill everything on the bottom of the pan has dissolved in the water clear a spot for chicken thighs and place skin side done in the pan put a lid on it and let steam for 5-10 mins.
your carrots should be done right now strain them and let sit in a safe place
when all the moister has evaporated and the skin on the chicken is a nice brown color flip over add more liquid (there should be just enough o cover the bottom of the pan form this point on)
once the chicken is flipped sprinkle the entire pan in herbs and spices, pepper, and salt ( don’t be shy with the salt but remember the prosciutto has a lot of salt in it all ready so don’t go over board i used about a teaspoon)
in about 5-8 mins the chicken should be done make sure the pan stays moist don’t burn it.
at this point take the chicken out of the pan and set aside to rest turn off burner
sprinkle the parmesan cheese into mushroom mixture and stirr
at this pint you are ready to plate i will tell you how i did mine and show you but feel free to experiment
take 1/2 cup mushroom mixture place in the middle of the plate drizzle with balsamic. Line the outside of the mixture with carrots
place one chicken thigh on top of mushroom mixture and top with a tablespoon of cheese garnish with sliced green onion
you can strain the liquid from the mushrooms and use as a sauce but sense we used a moist cooking method the chicken should not need it and if you got a nice even brown sear on the top why would you want to hide that .

and bam there ya go. there are a ton of pointers, twist and simple was you can change this dish to make it your own. It is pretty simple and is missing a starch some rice or fresh veggies would really liven it up.