This is
so easy it's not even funny, it takes about an hour in the oven to be ready and it looks impressive enough to serve to your
mother in law. The quality and variety of the
flavourings is what elevates this recipe, so try to get them and not stint. What to use:
(for 4 diners)
- 4 chicken supremes. These are breast joints with the wing bones still attached, and you can usually buy them pre-packaged in any supermarket. It doesn't matter if they have the skin on or not, except for calorie counting purposes.
- A couple of handfuls of fresh mushrooms per person. The more different kinds of mushrooms, the better: button, white, field, shitake etc.
- Butter or olive oil.
- Salt and pepper, as well as whole allspice (optional) and turmeric for colour (that you can also get in most large stores in the UK - in the US, try an Asian or Oriental deli).
- Optional, but gives an amazing effect - a few pieces of dried Poricini mushrooms. They're very expensive if you think of their weight, but you'll only need a quid's worth for this recipe and it's really, really worth it.
Preheat oven to 180-190C, Gas Mark 5.
Wash the mushrooms and cut them into uneven pieces of no more than 1.5-2cm square.
Place the chicken supremes in a flat heat-proof pan (a galss one is better as they will stick to it less). Either drizzle the olive oil over it or place about 5 slices off the butter haphazardly around. Season well and add a large pinch of allspice balls (corns?).
Scatter the mushrooms evenly over the chicken so that it is all covered.
Sprinkle a pinch of the turmeric evenly over the pan to cover the whole dish in a uniform layer of colour.
Cover in a sheet of tin foil and place in the middle of the oven for 30 minutes. If you are afraid of the chicken becoming too dry, baste the juices onto it with a spoon every 10 minutes or so.
Remove the tin foil and cook the chicken for another 30 minutes, this time basting occasionally. You will notice that the mushrooms have reduced in volume considerably and that there is a large amount of juices in the pan to baste with. This is good because it means you don't have to go tilting the pan or taking it out but can just reach into the oven with a large spoon and baste in a low-tech fashion.
After a full hour in the oven you chicken will almost definitely be ready. However if you're nervous turn the largest piece over and check for pinkness (except on bones, that doesn't do any harm cause we don't eat them). If there is any, return the chicken to the oven for a few more minutes.
Place chicken pieces on plates and spoon the sauce generously over them. For added swank, serve with Roast Potatoes with Asparagus.