Our thanks to John Ash and Chefs Collaborative for permission to publish the recipes below.
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Serves 4
Flavored, or compound, butters are among the simplest of the "flavor makers" in the cook's repertoire, says Chef Ash. On their own they can complement all kinds of grilled, roasted, sauteed or broiled fishes, meats or vegetables throughout the year, but here Ash uses a classic butter flavored with lemon and parsley (called Maitre d'Hotel butter) in a deglazing sauce that bathes sautÈed chicken breasts. "This same technique can be used for anything sautÈed including fishes or red meats," says Ash. "One of my favorites is to saute hamburgers and then make a deglazing sauce substituting red wine for the white, beef stock for the chicken."
4 skin-on, boneless chicken breast halves or 8 skin-on chicken thighs
salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons Organic Valley cultured unsalted butter
salt and freshly ground pepper
1 cup finely diced mushrooms
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup white wine
3 - 4 tablespoons Maitre d'Hotel butter (see below), cut into bits
Season chicken lightly with salt and pepper. Over moderately high heat, heat the oil and butter in a saute pan large enough to hold the chicken in one layer without crowding. Add the chicken skin side down and cook until richly browned and crisp, 5 - 7 minutes. Turn and continue to cook until chicken is cooked through but still juicy. To tell when it's done, prick the chicken with the point of a knife and the juices should run clear with no hints of pink.
Remove the chicken and keep warm. Pour off all but a tablespoon or so of the fat in the pan. Add the mushrooms and saute and stir over moderately high heat until they just begin to color. Add the stock and wine and boil, stirring up all the juices and browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Continue to boil until liquid has reduced at least by half and is thickened, about 5 minutes. Off the heat, whisk in the flavored butter, which will melt and thicken the sauce. Season with salt and pepper to your taste. Spoon over chicken and serve immediately.
When the chicken is fully cooked, transfer it from the pan to four serving plates, using tongs or a slotted spatula, and leaving the cooking juices in the pan. Add the soaked or fresh morel mushrooms to the chicken cooking liquid and cook the mushrooms in the liquid until they are tender and heated through, about 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, drop the asparagus and the carrots into the boiling water with the salt and cook, just until the asparagus is bright green and the carrots are barely tender, about 4 minutes. Drain the vegetables and distribute them evenly between the four serving plates, tucking the vegetables around the breasts of chicken. Drizzle olive oil over the vegetables and sprinkle them with the chopped parsley and the freshly ground black pepper.
Stir the sour cream in with the mushrooms and cook just until the cream is piping hot, about 30 seconds. Distribute the mushroom and sour cream sauce over the chicken breasts and serve at once.
The basic procedure for flavored butters couldn't be simpler. From John Ash: "Soften the butter at room temperature for an hour or so and then beat for a minute or so with the paddle of an electric mixer. You can certainly do it by hand, too, with a heavy wooden spoon. Beat in the flavoring ingredients until just incorporated (be sure they are cool if any of them are cooked). Cover and refrigerate for up to three days or roll into logs, wrap tightly in aluminum foil and freeze for later use. Plan to use them up within six months."
To diversify your flavored butters-and the dishes they enliven--take advantage of seasonal herbs, says Ash. We suggest chives or cilantro in spring, dill or basil in summer and rosemary in fall and winter.
1 pound Organic Valley cultured unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons grated lemon zest
3/4 cup finely chopped parsley
1/2 cup finely minced shallots or green onions
sea or kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Beat the butter in a bowl until softened. Beat in the lemon juice a tablespoon at a time and then mix in the rest of the ingredients. Depending on your preference, you can use the shallots raw or saute them till soft and cool them before beating into the butter. Instead of just parsley you could also use a mixture of fresh chopped herbs of your choice. In the summertime I mix chopped chives, parsley and basil from my garden.
Cookbook author and culinary educator John Ash says, "One of the simplest and best ways to cook asparagus is to give it a light coating of olive oil and grill it. Grilling brings out the sweetness." To gild the lily, he sprinkles the grilled spears with lemon-infused extra-virgin olive oil and thinly shaved Pecorino or Parmiagiano cheese. For a delicious antipasti course, add "some good olives, thinly sliced meats such as coppa or proscuitto, and maybe a sprinkling of some fried capers."
Spring: baby artichokes; asparagus; peas; medjool dates; strawberries; leg of lamb; soft-shell crabs; fava beans
Summer: veggie-packed salads; herbed goat cheese; berry smoothies; gazpacho; salsas fresh figs; nectarines; apricots; melons; garbanzo beans; all kinds of basil; avocados; heirloom tomatoes
Fall: roasted garlic; olives; new-crop almonds and walnuts; all kinds of chile peppers; beets; boletus mushrooms; roasted red peppers; Fuyu persimmons
Winter: Dungeness crab; blood oranges; Meyer lemons; olive oil; wine and wine vinegars; dried figs; fennel; broccoli; purple potatoes
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