I love this served with garlicky spinach
More spinach than you think - so a large bag for 2 people but it’s not a generous portion! Fry in a little oil until it wilts down, then add crushed garlic, salt and pepper and fry for 30 seconds. Remove from the heat. Pop the spinach in a sieve and use a wooden spoon to squeeze some of the moisture out of it. So delicious!

Chicken breasts
I love the supremes as they still have the wing bone attached and I am a big fan of bone-in cooking when it comes to chicken. You can ask the butcher for supremes, or you can do it yourself from a whole chicken if you are so inclined. I am not a butcher and yet I rather enjoy this process and if I can do it, you can do it! I’m sure of it. Of course you could just use normal breasts, but do try to use skin on as it just makes such a huge difference.

If you cannot find skin on chicken breasts and you don’t fancy the task of butchering a chicken yourself….don’t panic! Julia Child taught me (not personally sadly! but through one of her brilliant books) the perfect way to cook plain (skinless, boneless) chicken breasts in a way that makes them juicy and succulent and pretty near perfect everytime.

Julia Child’s (slightly tweaked) guide to perfectly cooked chicken breasts

Flatten the chicken breasts to an even thickness. I do this by laying them on a piece of cling film, covering them with another piece of clingfilm and then bashing them with a rolling pin or small frying pan.

Season the chicken well with salt and pepper.

Heat a frying pan over medium-high heat and when it is quite hot, add the olive oil (you can also use butter if you fancy) and then the chicken breasts. Turn the heat down to medium and cook undisturbed for just about 1 minute to help them get a little golden on one side. Flip the chicken breasts over and turn the heat down to low.

Cover the pan with a tight-fitting lid and set a timer for 10 minutes. And then leave it alone. This is important. Do not lift the lid or peek in. Just leave it alone to do its thing.

Once the timer goes off, turn off the heat and let it sit for an another 10 minutes. Again, do not lift the lid: THIS IS IMPORTANT.

After the 10 minutes are up, your chicken is done. Make sure there is no pink in the middle of the chicken breasts. This works for me every time without fail - simply slice the chicken and enjoy! ( If you want to be absolutely sure it is cooked, you can use an thermometer to check the internal temp of the chicken which should be at least 165°F.)

Type of Mushrooms
It’s chanterelle mushroom season which is always a good time of year in my eyes. They are so incredibly delicious and worth tracking down if you can. But at other times of year I make this with any mushrooms I can find, although I do always tend to err on the side of the chestnut mushroom over a bog standard mushroom, they just have more flavour. If you can’t get your hands on any fresh mushrooms, that’s okay too as you can make a very delicious sauce with dried porcini mushrooms - probably around 25g. Place in a bowl and soak in enough warm water just to cover them. Leave to rest for at least 30 minutes. Then strain them, saving the liquid which you can also add to the sauce as a lovely little hit of mushroom stock.

To wash mushrooms or not wash mushrooms that is the question
I always wash mushrooms. People get worried about washing them because they are little sponges and soak up all the water but the way I cook them is dry in a very hot pan until the release all the water and then you can add the butter and flavourings etc so really washing them is absolutely fine!

The sauce
I love this sauce. So. much. It’s so good. Use cream or creme fraiche. Use more stock and less cream or vice versa. Add more garlic. Stir through chopped parsley. Serve over rice. Fry some strips of pork or chicken and add them too. Add parmesan and serve tossed through pasta. You can’t go wrong. It’s delicious.

Celeriac
Choose a firm, heavy one and use a potato peeler to remove the thick skin or a sharp knife. Celeriac discolours quickly, so; if you're not using it immediately, just pop it in a bowl of water with some lemon slices after you’ve chopped it to stop it going brown.