Cornfed Chicken Breast Stuffed with Quandongs

Cornfed Chicken Breast
Stuffed with Quandongs on Wild Mushrooms,
Warrigal Greens and Native Thyme Broth

Serves 4
Recipe: Medium Complexity
Raymond Kersh and Jennice Kersh chef and restaurateur

Ingredients
4 cornfed chicken breasts
200 g (7 oz) quandongs or peaches
75 g (2-1/2 oz) butter
8 cups warrigal greens or silverbeet (Swiss chard), blanched
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 pieces of pig's caul, about 20 cm (8 inch) square
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1 clove garlic
100 g (3-1/2 oz) Swiss brown mushrooms, sliced
45 g (1 -1/2 oz) shiitake mushrooms, sliced
45 g (1-1/2 oz) shijemi mushrooms, sliced

Native Thyme Broth
3-1/4 cups (825 mL/26 fl oz) chicken stock
1/2 teaspoon native thyme
1 teaspoon ginger
1 stalk lemon grass, soft part only, chopped
2 teaspoons ground coriander
Fresh coriander (Chinese parsley) leaves to garnish
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C (400 degrees F). Butterfly the chicken breast into halves. Sauté the quandongs in a frying pan or skillet in half the butter. When soft, place a quarter of the cooked quandongs in the middle of each chicken breast. Place cup of the warrigal greens on top of each pile of quandongs and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Roll up each chicken breast and then wrap each one in a piece of the pig's caul. Pan-fry the chicken in the olive oil over medium heat until browned, then bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes. Remove pan from the oven and keep warm.

Sauté the onion with the remaining butter, then add the garlic, three types of mushrooms and the remaining warrigal greens.

To make the thyme broth, place the chicken stock, native thyme, ginger, lemon grass and coriander in a large saucepan and bring to the boil. Reduce in volume by half over high heat, then strain through a fine sieve. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove the chicken from the pan and slice into 4 rounds. Place the mushroom mixture in the middle of each warmed serving bowl and place the chicken on top. Pour the broth around the outside until it reaches the mushrooms. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve immediately.

Buy the Book!

Australian Food:
In Celebration of the New Australian Cuisine
By Alan Saunders
Ten Speed Press
Paperback, 224 pages, $24.95
Publication Date: September 1999
ISBN: 1-58008-098-7
Recipe reprinted by permission.