1 oz Imported dried porcini
-mushrooms
3 1/2 lb Chicken; cut into 8 pieces
2 oz Flour; for coating the
-chicken
2 tb Vegetable oil
1/2 oz Butter
Salt
Black pepper; freshly ground
3 tb Onion; chopped
3 oz Dry Marsala wine
This is a dish you can cook right to the end, but without spooning
off any fat, several hours or even a day in advance. When ready to
serve, warm the chicken in a covered frying pan over slow heat,
adding a little water if it seems necessary. Spoon off any free
excess fat from the pan when the chicken is hot, just before serving.
Soak the mushrooms in 2 c barely warm water for at least 30 minutes.
Lift out the mushrooms by hand, squeezing out as much water as
possible, letting it flow back into the container in which they
soaked. Rincse the reconstituted mushrooms in several changes of
fresh water. With the tip of a small paring knife scrape clean any
place where soil appears to be still embedded. Pat dry with kitchen
paper towels and chop them very finely. The water in which the
mushrooms soaked is richly infused with porcini flavor. To clear it
of the soil that has become deposited in it, filter it through a
strainer lined with single-ply kitchen paper, collecting it in a bowl
or jug. Set aside.
Wash the chicken pieces thoroughly, and pat them as dry as you can
using either kitchen paper or a tea towel. Spread the flour on a
plate and turn the chicken in it.
Choose a frying pan or saute pan that can accommodate all the chicken
pieces in a single layer without overlapping, put in the oil and
butter, and turn on the heat to medium high. When the butter foam
begins to subside, slip in the chicken. When all the pieces have
become well browned on onse side, add salt, black pepper and the
chopped onion, and turn the pieces over.
When the chicken has become browned all over and the onion has become
coloured a rich gold, add the Marsala wine, let it bubble briskly for
just a few seconds, add the chopped porcini mushrooms, turn the
ingredients over with a wooden spoon, then cover the pan and turn
down the heat to medium low.
Cook the chicken at a slow, but regular simmer, replenishing the
cooking juices whenever they begin to dry out with 2 or 3 tb of the
filtered water from the mushroom soak. Turn the chicken pieces over
every once in a while and continue cooking until they feel very
tender when prodded with a fork and the meat looks as though it would
easily fall off the bone, about 50 minutes to 1 hour. The cooking
juices should have condensed into a small amount of creamy sauce. If
there is too much fat flowing free, tip the pan and spoon it off.
Transfer the entire contents of the pan to a warm platter and serve
at once.
