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Roasted Chicken with Braised Chard and Polenta

Creamy polenta paired with red chard braised in red verjus and roasted chicken breast
Servings: 6 servings

Ingredients

For Mushroom Stock

  • 25 cups water
  • 1 oz porcini mushrooms dried
  • 1 onion, medium cut in half
  • 10 sprigs thyme fresh
  • salt to taste

For Polenta

  • 2.5 cups polenta course
  • 12 cups Mushroom Stock above
  • 2 tbsp olive oil

For Braise

  • 1/2 lb mushrooms European (crimini, chesnut)
  • 2 shallots diced
  • 4 cloves garlic sliced thinly
  • 4 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 bunches red chard center ribs removed, sliced thin
  • 3/4 cup red verjus
  • 2-3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • salt to taste
  • 1 cup pine nuts toasted

For Chicken

  • 1 lb chicken breasts skinless/boneless
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • salt to taste
  • pepper to taste

Instructions

  • Season chicken breast with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside in refrigerator at least 30 minutes
  • Prepare stock: place dried mushrooms, onion (cut in half), and thyme into stock pot with 25 cups of water (at least). Bring to boil, and then simmer until desired flavor strength is reached (usually 45-60 minutes). Strain stock.
  • While stock is cooking, slice garlic thinly, and dice shallots. Remove the center rib from the leaves of chard, and slice thinly so chard is in ribbons. Set aside.
  • Place 12 cups of stock into a pot and bring to boil. Once boiling, add polenta in a steady stream, whisking vigorously to incorporate. Turn heat to low. Once mixture starts to thicken, stop whisking and leave at low simmer to cook until tender (usually 1-2 hours, depending on polenta used - cooking times may differ if fine polenta or instant polenta is used. Consult package directions). At end of cooking, mix in 2T of olive oil or butter. Set aside - do not cool completely, or polenta will become firm and hard to serve.
  • In a separate pot, sweat the shallots in 2T of olive oil at medium heat (season with salt). Once onions are translucent, add garlic and mushrooms, stirring frequently. Once mushrooms are mostly cooked, add in leftover olive oil, and chard in sections. When chard begins to wilt, turn heat down and add verjus. Stir until chard is completely tender. Add 2-3T of balsamic vinegar, to taste, and season with salt if needed. Set aside.
  • In a saute pan, add 2T of olive oil and bring pan to medium heat. Once pan is hot, place chicken breast in pan, and leave until outside is seared (brown). Flip and repeat. Transfer chicken to oven-safe dish and cook at 350 degrees until chicken is cooked through (juices are clear).
  • Plate: spoon polenta down, then chard mixture, and top with chicken. Garnish with toasted pine nuts and scallions.