Chick­en Fil­lets with Mush­rooms and Creme Fraiche

(serves 4)

4 tbps butter
2 tbsps olive oil
4 chick­en breast fil­lets, well trimmed
2 cloves gar­lic, minced
1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves
salt and pep­per to taste
1/2 white onion, minced, or 2 shal­lots, minced
gen­er­ous splash Marsala
6 large white mush­rooms, sliced roughly
1/2 cup chick­en stock
1/2 cup half-fat creme fraiche

Melt but­ter with olive oil in a large skil­let until (as Julia Child says) the but­ter stops talk­ing to you. Real­ly: wait until the bub­bling sub­sides, then slip in the chick­en breasts. Saute on one side for two min­utes, and flip over for two more min­utes. Remove to a plat­ter. Drop gar­lic and thyme leaves, salt, pep­per and onion (or shal­lots) in the remain­ing but­ter and oil and saute gen­tly till gar­lic is soft. Turn up heat and add Marsala, bub­ble strong­ly for a few min­utes. When it’s reduced, throw in mush­rooms and stir vig­or­ous­ly until they begin to let off juice. Cov­er with the chick­en stock and sim­mer for about 15 min­utes. Add creme fraiche and whisk till mixed.

Place chick­en breasts in sauce and sim­mer until the chick­en is thor­ough­ly, but not over-cooked. This may take about 15 min­utes. Serve with steamed rice and a nice green veg­etable: thin beans, sug­ar snap peas, aspara­gus, steamed broc­coli. GORGEOUS.