Chicken Supreme with Mushroom Cream served on Black Rice

Chicken supreme in a Mushroom Cream served on black rice is an easy and smooth dish for mushroom lovers. The healthy properties of black rice are extraordinary! Come, check it out!

Look at that rice, this precious black rice turned into dark shades of purple when it’s done cooking. Not only is it a super healthy rice, it’s just so pretty in a plate and contrast so great the white sauce. I’ll come back to the rice a bit later… This meal is a shout-out to any mushrooms lover out there. I personally disliked mushroom as a kid, I believe it was mostly its texture that repulsed me. Today, strangely all the stuff I used to dislike as a kid are some of my favorites; like olives, strong cheeses, mushrooms, fish, etc. Strange how our taste develops into something completely different… although my favorites from back in the days are pretty much up to now… still loved. I believe it’s mainly because of the memory attached to it… for me personally, I still crave stuff from my childhood, especially living abroad and being far from where I grew up. I still would love a bite into those chicken fingers from St-Hubert restaurants, stuff myself up with “gateau vachon” which are small cream filled cakes or those devilish but delicious ketchup chips which let your fingers red. Oh… enough nostalgia let’s talk about healthy stuff now…

Black rice

This year I would like to explore more variations of rice, flours and pasta types, a more healthy approach with lots of fibres and whole grains. Black rice is a great start for this challenge of mine! This dark rice used to be eaten only by the emperors, it was for anyone else a “forbidden” rice but nowadays gladly we can get it easily in many stores although still harder to find than brown rice. I knew white rice had the least nutrients, fibers, vitamins, etc. then the other colours. But what about brown, red and black? Well those 3 colours keep their top layers which contains most of the fibers, proteins, etc. In other word that’s where all the goodies lie… while white rice is naked, higher in sugar and treated in such a way that it can be preserve longer than the coloured rices. Brown rice, for example, last about 6 month on shelves, while white rice stays good for 3 to 4 years. What really makes black rice better than the brown and red ones ? It’s a antioxidant called anthocyanin, found also in blueberries and purple cauliflower which gives it the purplish color to the rice and is also a powerful antioxidant. Not only is it a potent antioxidant put highly probable gives anti-inflammatory, anti-viral and anti-cancer benefits (currently researched). Its flavor is nuttier and firmer than white rice which can make it slightly a challenge to overcome for some but personally I like my rice to be crunchier and nuttier. So if you are like me… looking for ways to eat healthier, black rice is a great way to start!  It’s only problem is… it takes quite a long time to cook (1 hour), so plan ahead!

The mushroom sauce

As for the rest, which is the mushroom cream… I’ve used shiitakes but it could be button mushrooms as well. Although if you have an extra buck in your pocket I highly recommend shiitakes. Thanks to globalisation those are pretty much in every Supermarkets now. I know many uses them only in asian meals but I implore you to replace those button mushrooms by the asian variety… they are in my opinion simply tastier and easier to cook. They have an extra woody flavor to them that goes perfectly with the nutty rice taste. Don’t forget to remove the stem, and keep them for a later stock, they will give it a great umami flavor.

So let’s make this easy, tasty and filled with antioxidant dish!

Chicken Supreme in a Mushroom Cream served on black rice

Makes 4 portions | Preparation: 1h00 | Difficulty: easy

Ingredients

• 2 chicken breast
• 300g of black rice
• 300g shiitake mushrooms sliced
• 300ml of cream
• 3 garlic cloves minced
• olive oil 
• fresh thyme
• nutmeg, salt and pepper

Directions

1. Start by cooking the black rice following the package instructions ; about 1 hour.
2. Add a touch of olive oil, salt and pepper to the chicken breast
3. …30 minutes before the end of cooking the rice… Cook the chicken breast in the oven at 180°C (350F) for 25-30 minutes (depends of the size)
4. …15 minutes before the end of cooking the rice… Add the sliced shiitakes in a big pan with some olive oil and salt, medium-high heat, let the mushrooms loose all its water (about 5 minutes)
5. Add the minced garlic, cook an extra minute
6. Lower the heat to low and add the cream, thyme, nutmeg, salt and pepper
7. Cook until warm and take off the fire
8. Slice the chicken into thick slices, add to the black rice and cover with the mushroom sauce with extra thyme as toppings

Enjoy!