Chicken Wellington

Most of us are familiar with Beef Wellington, that decadent but delicious British dish of tenderloin encased in a golden brown puff pastry.  I've made it before, and I'll probably blog it someday, but usually when I get my hands on a whole beef tenderloin I can't help but cutting it up into thick steaks and grilling it to rare perfection.  But guess what, there's no reason you can't "Wellington" other things--chicken, for instance.  You get the savory deliciousness of all that puff pastry and fixin's, without the expense of the tenderloin.

I also like how this recipe makes individually-sized Wellingtons, as opposed to a whole tenderloin sized one that you slice and serve.  With this method, each diner gets more puff pastry, and that's really the whole point, isn't it?  I think I might apply this method to Beef Wellington as well in the future.

Note, in the recipe below, I'm only making two Wellingtons, so if you want more, just double or triple or whatever to your heart's content.


Chicken Wellington

1 Large Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast, Cut in Half Lengthwise
1 Large Yellow Onion, Diced
3 Tablespoons Butter
3 Oz Mushrooms, Diced
1 Teaspoon Fresh Thyme
1/4 Cup White Wine
2 Oz Gorgonzola or other Blue Cheese
1 Sheet Puff Pastry, Thawed and Rolled out about 10 inches square and divided in half
1 Egg, Beaten

Dice your onion

 And the mushrooms

Melt the butter in a skillet and sauté the onions and mushrooms until they are soft and starting to turn golden.

Add the Thyme and simmer for a minute or two.

Add the white wine and simmer until liquid is reduced and absorbed.  Reserve mushroom/onion mixture.

Slice your chicken breasts in half lengthwise and then sauté them until they are golden brown on the outside but still raw within--probably about 2 to 3 minutes a side.

While this is happening, crumble your gorgonzola

and roll out the puff pastry.

Until it is about ten inches square and then split it in two down the middle.

Add half the mushroom/onion mixture to the middle of one of the puff pastry sheets.

Then add half the cheese crumbles

Then place one of the chicken pieces on top

Whisk the egg until the yolk and white are mixed.

Brush the edge of the puff pastry sheet with the egg mixture.

Grab a corner of the pastry sheet and fold it inward.  Brush that edge with egg wash and then fold the other corner in.  Things should look like the photo below at this point.

Repeat process with the other side.  Should look like this now.

Brush with more egg wash and then fold the side flaps in and seal.  Looks like this now.

Flip over and place the 'Wellington' on a sheet tray lined with parchment paper.  Make the other Wellington(s).

If you want, reserve a little puff pastry dough and cut out some decorative shapes to place on the Wellington, like these leaf shapes for instance.

Brush the entirety of the Wellingtons with the egg wash

and bake for around 30 minutes at 400˚F.

Pull out the Wellingtons when they are golden brown--the chicken should have finished cooking perfectly inside.  Check it with a thermometer if you like.  145-155˚F should be proper.

Serve them while they're hot.  Oh, and these baby's are great with a sauce.  We recommend a nice Bearnaise Sauce.

Until Next time,



Don't be chicken, try this Wellington!


Chris

Ham and Cheese Tart

For December here at An Eat’n Man, I’m going to post several recipes whose photos have been sitting on the hard drive for a while—a sort of clearinghouse month this will be.  As I review the blog and my cooking record, I see I’ve got 92 posts on the blog, but over 150 dishes cooked and photographed and sitting on my computer.  I guess I’ve been more of a chef than a blogger, but oh well. 

So, coming up next month I’ll be announcing a big change to the blog.  No, I’m not turning vegan or anything like that.  I’ve just been working on some changes that will improve the appearance of the blog.  More on that in January. 

Anyhoo, this change will mean much of the photography that’s sitting around on the hard drive won’t be usable.  Not a big deal.  Some were fails anyway, and some I will redo to suit the changes to the blog.  But a few I hated to waste, so I’ve selected some of those and will be posting them throughout this month. 

First up is this awesome Ham and Cheese Tart.  I saw one of my fave chefs Bobby Flay make this on the Food Network a while back, so I had to try it.  I changed it a little bit, mainly because he used apricots in his, and I wanted mine to be strictly savory.  Here goes:

Ham and Cheese Tart

2 Sheets Puff Pastry, Thawed. 

3 to 4 Tablespoons coarse Grained Mustard

1/2 to 1 Pound Thinly Sliced Smoked Ham

8 Ounces Shredded White Cheddar

Handful Spinach Leaves

1 Egg

Cracked Black Pepper

Preheat oven to 400˚F

We’ll be using store-bought puff pastry for this.  

The box comes with two sheets, which is perfect for this recipe. 

Thaw the puff pastry according to the directions on the box, then lay it out on a well-floured surface and unfold one sheet.  

Roll it out till it has increased in size by about an inch on all sides.  Transfer it to a parchment paper lined baking sheet pan.   

Next, the mustard.  

I prefer this Maille brand Old Style Whole Grain Dijon, but use whatever you like.  Spread the mustard all over the puff pastry, 

leaving about an inch incovered all around the pastry. 

The ham:  

I prefer to use a nice, full-flavored smoked ham in the dish, but there are lots of other options as well.  Use whichever you like.  Just make sure it is sliced thin. 

Layer it on the puff pastry, again leaving an inch of the puff pastry uncovered all around. 

Crack a little black pepper on the ham.  No salt though, hams are cured and have plenty of salt already in them. 

Sprinkle your shredded white cheddar onto the ham. 

Spread some spinach leaves over the cheese. 

Now, roll out the other sheet of puff pastry to the same size as the first.  Carefully transfer it to the sheet pan, laying it over the first puff pastry exactly. 

Seal up the edges by pressing all around with a fork.  This will give it a lovely decorative edge as well. 

Beat the egg with a few drops of water and brush it into the tart.  

Using a lame or sharp knife, cut a few slits in the top of the tart to let steam escape. 

The Tart, ready to go into the oven.

Pop it in the oven and bake for 30 minutes or so, until the tart is puffed up and golden brown. 

Slice into six or eight slices and serve immediately. 

Enjoy!

Until Next Time,

Ham it up!

Chris