Chicken Wellington

This take on the traditional beef Wellington starts with a deeply flavored mushroom duxelles, basically mushrooms sautéed in red wine and butter with shallot, garlic, and herbs. The entire mixture is whirled in a blender to create a thick paste to coat chicken breasts, which are then wrapped in prosciutto and then in puff pastry. • serves 4

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Mushroom Duxelles

• 8 ounces cremini mushrooms, coarsely chopped
• 1 large shallot, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• Leaves from 3 sprigs fresh thyme
• 2 tablespoons dry red wine
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Chicken Wellington

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 2 pounds)
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 8 thin slices prosciutto (about 3 ounces)
• 4 sheets puff pastry from 2 (17.3-ounce) packages, thawed if frozen
• 1 large egg, beaten with 1 teaspoon water

For the mushroom duxelles, combine the mushrooms, shallot, garlic, thyme, wine, parsley, and bay leaf in a food processor. Blend until a smooth puree forms. Melt the butter with the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the mushroom puree and cook, stirring every couple of minutes, until the liquid has evaporated and the mixture has thickened in consistency, 8 to 10 minutes. Set the duxelles aside.

For the chicken Wellington, coat the chicken in 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Season with the thyme, salt, and pepper. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in a medium frying pan over medium heat. Add the chicken and lightly brown both sides. Remove the chicken from the pan and pat dry. Coat with the mustard and set aside.

Lay 2 slices of the prosciutto touching edge-to-edge on a sheet of plastic wrap to form a large rectangle. Top with a second sheet of plastic wrap. Use a flat meat pounder to pound the slices together along the seam into one large prosciutto rectangle. Remove the top layer of plastic wrap. Spread the exposed prosciutto with one-fourth of the mushroom mixture. Place one chicken breast at one end of the rectangle. Roll the chicken to wrap the prosciutto and mushroom filling around it, removing the bottom layer of plastic wrap as you roll. Once tightly rolled, wrap the prosciutto-wrapped breast in plastic wrap and refrigerate. Repeat with the remaining ingredients, then chill the chicken breasts in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 425°F.

Remove the plastic wrap and place the wrapped chicken on one end of the puff pastry. Roll it to cover the chicken in the puff pastry, and fold any excess puff pastry on the sides underneath the chicken. Place the Wellingtons on a baking sheet, seam side down. Use a pastry brush to lightly brush the Wellingtons with the egg wash. Use a small sharp knife to cut three 1-inch holes in the top of each for steam to escape.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the pastry crust is golden brown and the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165°F. Let cool for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.