Thoughts on a vegetarian version, keeping the nice browned flavor? The chicken was lovely, but the sauce over polenta was a meal by itself.

Kristen is the Senior Editor of Food52

added about 2 years ago

Voted the Best Answer!

You'll still get a lot of meaty flavor from all the mushrooms, so I'd just focus on browning the creminis really well, and maybe even the onions and carrots (though caramelizing those will add more sweetness too). You could always up the mushroom amount too.

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lastnightsdinner added about 2 years ago

Kristen beat me to it! I'd go with focusing on the mushrooms and getting some nice browning on them, maybe add additional creminis or other mushrooms to the mix. I have to admit, I often have leftover sauce over polenta for my lunch the day after making this :)

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Anita is a vegan pastry chef & founder of Electric Blue Baking Co. in Brooklyn.

added about 2 years ago

The way I like to cook mushrooms to get the most flavor is to sear them. Get the pan really hot, then add the oil, swirl it around and add the mushrooms. They should be completely dry before they go in the pan (I don't wash, just wipe with a towel).

Spread them out and just leave them alone for a minute or two to sear. Make sure not to crowd the pan. Toss them around and do the same thing a few times, just letting them get brown and almost burned. When the pan gets dry, you can deglaze it with a little white wine, sake, vermouth, beer, etc. The mushrooms will release their juices but just keep going! Once the juices have mostly cooked off you can turn down the head and add the rest of the sauce ingredients and it will have so much more flavor.

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