Mushroom & Artichoke Chicken Fricassee

This chicken fricassee is a “Helloooo, spring,” kind of dish. It’s made with artichokes—a quintessential mark of the growing season to me. 

Fricassee is a rich dish, where meat is braised with white wine and usually cream. In this version, chicken tenderloins are seared first, giving them flavor and shortening overall cooking time. 

This time of year we’re stuck in limbo between soup season and grilling season, when you crave fresh flavors but warm dishes at the same time. Fricassee is definitely warming -- that sauce is no joke. But the addition of artichokes, mushrooms and a generous sprinkle of parsley on top keeps it feeling lighter than if you were to use winter veggies (potatoes or other root veggies… though that would be delicious too).  Wonderful on a rainy day in March!

Because of its creamy sauce, fricassee is really good served over something like rice or mashed cauliflower... anything to soak up the creaminess! 

The whole thing is cooked on the stove and will be ready in 30 minutes. If you plan on making rice or mash cauliflower to go with it, get it going just as you’re starting to make the Fricassee so that it’s all ready at once and you don’t have to spend any more time in the kitchen than necessary!

Happy Spring! 

Mushroom & Artichoke Chicken Fricassee

Published March 27, 2018 by Caitlin Sherwood

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Serves: 4   |    Total Time: 30 minutes

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Ingredients:

• 2-3 tablespoons coconut oil or other cooking oil
• 1 pound chicken tenderloins, or thin-cut chicken breasts
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 14-ounce can artichoke hearts, quarters and drained
• 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• Salt
• Blck pepper
• 1/4 cup minced parsley

Directions:

1. Season the chicken generously with salt and pepper. Dredge each piece through the flour, tapping off excess.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon coconut oil in the bottom of a skillet over medium heat (I used my 5-qt Le Creuset Braiser.) When the oil glistens, place the chicken in the pan. Cook on the first side for 5 minutes, until the bottom of each piece turns golden. Then flip, and cook 5 minutes on the opposite side. Use tongs or a spatula to move chicken to a plate and set aside.
3. Add second tablespoon of coconut oil to the pan. Once hot, add the sliced mushrooms and sauté for 5 minutes, stirring occassionally. Then add minced garlic, and cook for a minute, until fragrant.
4. Pour the broth and mustard into the pan, stirring the mustard into the broth. Bring the liquid to a simmer, and using a wooden spatula, scrape the bottom of the pan a few times to deglaze the pan. Simmer for 3-5 minutes, reducing the liquid a bit.
5. Add the chicken back into the pan, along with the artichokes. Pour in the cream, stirring into the sauce, and remove from heat.
6. Garnish with parsley and serve hot.

Brussels Sprout & Mushroom Stir Fry

Part of me hates going to Costco: to lines, the people, the hustle and bustle. But part of me loves it: the fridge full of organic veggies when we get home, frozen wild fish fillets that I can cook into fish tacos all month long, and giant jars of peanut butter (always). 

Brussels sprouts and mushrooms are two things I almost never leave Costco without. As far as vegetables go, they stay good in the fridge for a while, and we always go through them all. Costco trips mean recipes like this: Brussels Sprouts and Mushroom Sesame Stir Fry.

Toasted sesame oil is one of my favorite condiments because it’s depth of flavor adds so much to any Asian-style dish! Along with a drizzle of soy sauce and a spoonful of maple syrup? That’s where the magic happens. It’s a sweet, savory, nutty combination that goes with just about anything.

I use shiitake mushrooms in this recipe because they work well in recipes that have Asian flavors (like soy and sesame). If you can’t find shiitake mushrooms, baby portobellos will work just fine!

After you’ve made this recipe with brussels sprouts, you might find that the sauce is extremely adaptable — you could do this same exact thing with broccoli or zucchini.

Brussels Sprout & Mushroom Sesame Stir Fry

Published March 15, 2018 by Caitlin Sherwood

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Serves: 4   |    Total Time: 20 minutes

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Ingredients:

• 2 cups brussels sprouts, halved
• 2 cups mushrooms, sliced (I used shiitake but cremini mushrooms also work well)
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil 
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce 
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
• 1-2 tablespoon sesame seeds 

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a wok or skillet over medium heat until it glistens. Add mushrooms and brussels sprouts to the pan, stirring briefly.
2. Allow veggies to cook for 10 minutes, stirring ocassionally. Mushrooms should begin to soften and brussels should start to brown just on the edges. Add minced garlic to the pan, and cook for 3 more minutes, stirring every minute or so.
3. Drizzle soy sauce, maple syrup, and sesame oil into pan and stir. Cook for 3 more minutes. Add sesame seeds to taste, and remove from heat. Serve hot!

Salmon, Shiitakes & Chard in Parchment with Sriracha Aioli (Paleo)

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When life hands you a bag full of organic locally-grown shiitake mushrooms, you don't just throw them into any old dish. Oh no. 

First, you brainstorm all of the ways you could use the mushrooms. Surely you've filed  away something with potential in that brain of yours. 

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When the brainstorming slows down, you whip out your tablet or computer (whichever is closer) and you search all of your previous pins for the words "shiitake," and "mushroom". You open every potential recipe in a separate tab to read later. Then you expand your search: you browse everyone else's pins for the words "shiitake," and "mushroom". You open more tabs. 

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Once you've exhausted Pinterest, you make your way around the web. Foodgawker. Tastespotting. Stalkerville. Google image searches. The word Shiitake can now be found in the last 500 pages of your browser history. That's when you start pinning like a lunatic. All of your followers probably know now that your fridge is full of shiitake mushrooms. 

It's okay. They understand, because that's how everyone does it, right? ;) 

At some point, something just feels good. All of that pinning and you've got one shot. Finally you get to cook. 

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This recipe is part of the Real Food Fat Tuesday round up. Find more real food recipes on the Real Food Forager's round up post! 

Salmon, Shiitakes & Chard in Parchment with Sriracha Aioli

Paleo, Gluten-Free, Grain-Free    |   Caitlin Sherwood    |   

Serves: 4   |    Total Time: 60 minutes

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Ingredients:

For the Salmon, Shiitakes & Chard:
• 1 pound organic shiitake mushrooms
• 1/4 white onion
• 2 tablespoon avocado oil
• 2 tablespoon organic wheat-free tamari, traditional fermented soy sauce, or coconut aminos
• 1 bunch swiss chard (or about 5 large leaves)
• 2 pound wild caught Alaskan salmon filet
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 tablespoon minced ginger
• 3 small thai or vietnamese chili peppers, minced (NOTE: use less or completely eliminate this ingredient if you are spice-sensative, use more if you are a spice lover)
• Salt
• Cilantro, minced, for garnish
• Parchment paper
For the Sriracha Aioli:
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons Sriracha hot sauce (You caught me: Sriracha is not paleo).
• Pinch salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Wash and slice the mushrooms and onion. Cut the stems off of the chard leaves, setting the leaves aside for later use. Chop the stems into 1/2-inch pieces. Toss the mushrooms, onion, and chard stems in a bowl with the avocado oil and tamari, mixing until all of the vegetables are coated. Chop the chard leaves into thin ribbons, and set them aside as well.
2. Then cut your salmon filet into 8 equally sized portions. Then, prepare the parchment: cut out 8 circles with a 1-foot diameter each. Rub each piece of paper with avocado oil. A thin layer is fine, but be thorough--spread the oil all the way to the edges.
3. Working with one parchment circle at a time, place a handful of the chopped chard leaves on the paper. (TIP: You want to place the food just off from the center--not in the center. Think of the paper as the crust of a calazone. One half of it will fold over top of the food.). Add a handful of the mushroom mixture over the chard, and place one salmon filet over that, and sprinkle with salt. Top with a pinch of garlic, ginger, and a few pieces of chili pepper. Fold the parchment over the salmon. The two opposite edges of your parchment paper should now touch. Working from one side, fold the edge of the parchment paper over, creating a seem that closes the salmon into a parchment pocket. Work around the circle, folding a small amount of the edge over, until you have reached the other side of the pocket. Place on a baking pan. Repeat with the 7 other parchment circles and salmon filets.
4. Bake for 15-20 minutes (15 for very thin filets of fish, 20 for thicker filets). While the fish bakes, prepare the aioli. Put all of the ingredients in a blender and turn it on. The mixture should become thick, opaque, and a light pinkish color. Add more hot sauce if you like things spicier (we do).
5. When the salmon is done baking, place each parchment packet on a plate to serve. Cut open the center of the paper pocket, revealing the salmon. Top each filet with a dollop of mayo, and sprinkle with cilantro.