Chicken, Mushroom & Wild Rice Hot-dish
Submitted by barbequeguy
A layered casserole of wild rice, poached chicken, green beans, and mushrooms in a sherry-Parmesan cream sauce topped with sliced almonds. Minnesota hot-dish at its best.
YIELD
8 servingsPREP
25 minCOOK
1 minREADY
115 minIf you’re from the Upper Midwest, you know what a hot-dish is. If you’re not, think of it as a casserole with a soul.
This one layers nutty wild rice on the bottom, poached chicken breast in the middle, and French-cut green beans on top. The sauce is where the magic happens: leeks and a pound and a half of mushrooms cook down with dry sherry, then get thickened with flour, low-fat milk, Parmesan, and light sour cream. Sliced almonds on top go golden and crunchy in the oven.
It feeds eight, which means leftovers for days. And this is one of those casseroles that reheats even better than the first round.
Kitchen Tips
- Cook the wild rice separately. It takes 35 to 40 minutes and has its own timing that doesn’t match the rest of the dish.
- Poach the chicken gently in barely simmering water. A hard boil will give you tough, stringy meat.
- Cook the mushrooms until all their liquid evaporates. Watery mushrooms will make your sauce thin and your casserole soggy.
- Let the casserole rest for 8 minutes after baking. It needs time to set up so it doesn’t run all over the plate when you serve it.
Ingredients
Directions
Add water and rice in a small heavy saucepan; bring to a boil.
Cover, reduce heat to maintain a simmer, and cook until tender, 35 to 40 minutes. Drain.
Meanwhile, put chicken in a large skillet or saucepan.
Add lightly salted water to cover and bring to a boil.
Cover, reduce heat and simmer gently until the chicken is cooked through and no longer pink in the middle, 10 to 15 minutes.
Transfer to a clean cutting board and let cool.
Heat oil in a Dutch oven or large high-sided skillet over medium heat.
Add leeks and cook, stirring occasionally, until just starting to brown, 4 to 5 minutes.
Stir in mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until their liquid has been released and has evaporated, 12 to 14 minutes.
Stir in sherry, increase heat to high and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated, 5 to 7 minutes.
Sprinkle the vegetables with flour and stir to coat.
Add milk; bring to a simmer and cook for 1 minute, stirring often.
Add Parmesan, sour cream, parsley, salt and pepper.
Remove from the heat.
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Coat a 9-by-13-inch (or similar 3-quart) baking dish with cooking spray.
Cut the chicken into bite-size pieces.
Spread the rice evenly in an even layer in the prepared baking dish.
Top with the chicken, then green beans.
Pour the sauce over the top and spread evenly.
Sprinkle with almonds.
Bake the casserole until it is bubbling and the almonds are golden brown, about 30 minutes.
Let stand for about 8 minutes before serving.
Serve warm and enjoy!
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