Chicken Casserole with Mushrooms, Cream and Smoky Ham
Comforting, European-style chicken rich with mushrooms, cream and smoky ham. Serve it with buttered egg noodles or rice and a steamed green vegetable and/or side salad.
Recipe - Quality Foods
Chicken Casserole with Mushrooms, Cream and Smoky Ham
Prep Time45 Minutes
Servings6
Cook Time110 Minutes
Ingredients
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
12 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
16 medium crimini (brown) or white mushrooms, thinly sliced
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
100 grams sliced deli ham, such as black forest or honey ham, chopped into small cubes
3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp dried sage leaves
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp smoked or regular paprika
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 3/4 cups chicken stock (divided)
3/4 cup whipping cream
1 to 2 Tbsp chopped parsley
Directions
- Spread flour on a plate. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Coat chicken in flour, shaking off the excess, and then set it on a clean plate. Reserve leftover flour. Place 1/4 cup olive oil in a large skillet set over medium, medium-high heat. Sear chicken, in 2 or 3 batches, 2 to 3 minutes per side, until golden brown. Set seared chicken in a slightly overlapping layer in 13- x 9-inch casserole.
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Set the skillet you cooked the chicken in over medium heat and add remaining 1 Tbsp of olive oil. Add mushrooms, onion and ham and cook until mushrooms are tender, about 5 minutes. Mix in 3 Tbsp of the reserved flour (discard the rest), along with the sage, thyme, paprika and garlic powder. Cook and stir 1 minute more.
- Slowly add 1/2 cup of the stock to the skillet. When mixture is very thick, slow mix in rest of the stock, bring to a simmer, and then mix in the whipping cream. Season this sauce with salt and pepper, and then pour over the chicken (see Options). Cover chicken with foil and bake 45 minutes, or until chicken is tender and flavourful. Sprinkle chicken with parsley and serve.
Options: Once you’ve topped the seared chicken with the sauce, you could cool everything to room temperature, and then cover and refrigerate the casserole until ready to bake, many hours in advance. When needed, bake the chicken as described in the recipe, adding 15 or so minutes to the baking time, as you will be starting from cold.
45 minutes
Prep Time
110 minutes
Cook Time
6
Servings
Directions
- Spread flour on a plate. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Coat chicken in flour, shaking off the excess, and then set it on a clean plate. Reserve leftover flour. Place 1/4 cup olive oil in a large skillet set over medium, medium-high heat. Sear chicken, in 2 or 3 batches, 2 to 3 minutes per side, until golden brown. Set seared chicken in a slightly overlapping layer in 13- x 9-inch casserole.
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Set the skillet you cooked the chicken in over medium heat and add remaining 1 Tbsp of olive oil. Add mushrooms, onion and ham and cook until mushrooms are tender, about 5 minutes. Mix in 3 Tbsp of the reserved flour (discard the rest), along with the sage, thyme, paprika and garlic powder. Cook and stir 1 minute more.
- Slowly add 1/2 cup of the stock to the skillet. When mixture is very thick, slow mix in rest of the stock, bring to a simmer, and then mix in the whipping cream. Season this sauce with salt and pepper, and then pour over the chicken (see Options). Cover chicken with foil and bake 45 minutes, or until chicken is tender and flavourful. Sprinkle chicken with parsley and serve.
Options: Once you’ve topped the seared chicken with the sauce, you could cool everything to room temperature, and then cover and refrigerate the casserole until ready to bake, many hours in advance. When needed, bake the chicken as described in the recipe, adding 15 or so minutes to the baking time, as you will be starting from cold.
