Chicken Stroganoff

I remember my mom making beef stroganoff a lot as a kid.  She may correct me and say she made it rarely, so maybe I just remember it really well.  Either way, I loved it.  Tender egg noodles covered in creamy sauce, and the chunks of beef and mushrooms.  My mom always used ground beef instead of the traditional strips of beef.  I don’t think I even knew that the ground beef method wasn’t the way it should be until much later in life,  I hadn’t had it in a while, and I’ve never had it with chicken.  

This recipe is courtesy of Fine Cooking.  I have been on a kick with this magazine.  It is one of the first places I look for recipes these days.  There is sour cream in the sauce, but only 1/2 cup.  I used low fat, and it was great.  I also used chicken breasts instead of thighs.  The addition of sage, plum tomatoes and roasted red peppers creates something much more complex in flavor than traditional stroganoff.  I served this with steamed asparagus sprinkled with a little parmesan cheese.  I will definitely make this again.  The next time though I won’t sneak little bites out of the leftovers in the fridge so we can eat it two nights in a row!  

Chicken Stroganoff with Mushrooms and Sage
stroganoff


4 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 8-oz. package sliced cremini (baby bella) mushrooms
Kosher salt
1 shallot, finely chopped
2 Tbs. finely chopped fresh sage
Freshly ground black pepper
1-3/4 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs (5 or 6), trimmed of excess fat and cut into 1-1/2- to 2-inch pieces
1 Tbs. finely chopped garlic (about 2 large cloves)
1/3 cup dry sherry
1 whole jarred roasted red pepper, drained and cut into thin strips (about 1/2 cup)
1/2 cup sour cream
1 plum tomato, cored, seeded, and cut into medium dice

In a 10-inch straight-sided sauté pan, heat 2 tsp. of the oil over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms, season generously with salt, and cook undisturbed until well browned on one side, 1 to 3 minutes. Add half of the shallot and 1/2 Tbs. of the sage to the pan and continue to cook, stirring, until the mushrooms are well browned all over, another 3 to 5 minutes.

shrooms

Season generously with black pepper and transfer to a bowl. Leave the pan off the heat.

Generously season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper. Return the pan to medium-high heat, add the remaining 2 tsp. oil, and swirl to coat the pan. Add the chicken and cook undisturbed for 1 minute.

chicken

Add 1/2 Tbs. of the garlic, 1/2 Tbs. of the sage, and the remaining shallot and continue to cook, stirring, until the chicken is no longer pink on the outside, 2 to 4 minutes. Add the mushrooms, sherry, and red pepper and cook to reduce the sherry slightly, about 2 minutes.

chicken3

Lower the heat to medium and stir in the sour cream, tomato, and the remaining garlic. Partially cover the pan and simmer until the chicken is cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes. If the sauce seems overly thick, thin it with a little water. Season to taste with more salt and pepper. Serve sprinkled with the remaining sage.

Serve over egg noodles tossed with butter.