Pan Fried Nut Encrusted Stuffed Chicken Breasts with Mushroom Sherry Cream Sauce
I sometimes think of boneless, skinless chicken breasts as a blank canvas to experiment with different cooking techniques, ingredients to incorporate into the cooking, and sauces to serve. This recipe for stuffed chicken breasts with mushroom sherry cream sauce is a great example.
There are many ways to cook chicken breasts but encrusting them in flour & chopped nuts and then pan frying is an easy way to create a gourmet dinner for family and friends. Add to that a simple mushroom sherry cream sauce, and we are talking spectacular.
What Nuts To Use
I suggest you use whatever nuts you enjoy the most or which works best with the rest of our meal. Finely chopped peanuts may be the most economical, but cashews or even macadamia nuts may elevate the flavors.
Demi Glace
This recipe calls for demi glace in the mushroom sherry cream sauce. Demi-glace is the base of many classic French sauces and is used in professional kitchens in most higher-end restaurants. It is possible to make at home but requires a lot of bones and hours for simmering and reduction.
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Above Photo
I know it is not showing stuffed chicken breasts, and that’s because the photo I took of this dish 20 years ago doesn’t look very good. So instead, I found this great-looking stock photo of chicken breasts coated with chopped peanuts that looks spectacular.
As soon as I remake this dish, I’ll try to apply some of my new photo skills and take a decent photo.
Pan-Roasted Nut Crusted Breast of Chicken
Ingredients
For the Chicken
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- salt & pepper to taste
- 8 cremini mushrooms sliced
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 leaves mint sliced thin
- 16 leaves spinach stems removed
- 4 slices Swiss cheese
- 8 slices prosciutto ham thinly sliced
- ½ cup flour blended with 1 cup of water for pancake consistency
- 2 cups bread crumbs
- ½ cup nuts finely chopped (peanut, macadamia, cashew)
- ¼ cup butter unsalted
- ½ cup olive oil
Mushroom Sherry Cream Sauce
- ¼ cup sherry
- ¾ cup sliced mushrooms wild mushrooms provide additional flavor
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ½ cup demi glace
- 1 tablespoon butter unsalted
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Mushroom Sherry Cream Procedure
- Heat a medium-sized saucepan. Add the sherry, soy sauce, and mushrooms and cook until the mushrooms are soft and the liquid is reduced by half.
- Add the cream and reduce the sauce by ⅓.
- Add the demi-glace, season with salt and pepper, and simmer for about 4 minutes.
- Whisk in the tablespoon of butter, taste, and adjust the seasoning.
Preparing the Chicken
- Start by flattening the chicken using a meat pounder or the bottom of a frying pan. Then, gently flatten the chicken to ¼ inch.
- Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
- Combine the breadcrumbs with the chopped nuts.
- Heat a saute pan over medium heat, add the butter and saute the mushrooms until soft. And the mint leaves and remove from heat.
- Layer each chicken breast with spinach, Swiss cheese, prosciutto, and sauteed mushrooms, then fold the chicken in half and seal the edges by pressing with your fingers. You may need toothpicks to help secure the chicken.
- Dip each chicken breast into the flour batter, and be sure to let the excess batter drip off. Cover both sides with breadcrumbs and reserve.
- Reheat the saute pan over low heat, add the butter and oil and wait until it gets hot but not smoking. Saute the chicken breasts until golden brown on each side and fully cooked.
- To serve, place each chicken breast into the center of the plate, spoon some sauce over the chicken breasts or on the side and add your side vegetables.
