This Portobello Mushroom Chicken Braise recipe is a hearty, flavorful dish that pairs very well with a good bottle of Cabernet Franc.
This Portobello Mushroom Chicken Braise definitely started with the wine in mind.
When I heard that Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm would be hosting today’s event on “Cabernet Franc Around the World”, I figured it would be a perfect time to open the 2016 Dracaena Cabernet Franc Reserve.
I was looking forward to trying the Dracaena Reserve Cab Franc. Lori and her husband Mike, who own Paso Robles based Dracaena Wines, are members of our Wine Pairing Weekend group. I signed up for their wine club after really enjoying the initial bottle of their Cab Francs that I sampled.
The 2016 Dracaena Reserve Cabernet Franc is the first reserve they have made. I got the reserve along with two of their basic Cab Francs. Those went pretty quickly; but I held on to the reserve a bit, waiting for an occasion to open it. Today’s #winePW event focused on Cab Franc seemed like the perfect occasion!
Let’s look at some of the factors I was considering which led to me cooking up the Portobello Mushroom Chicken Braise.
Pairing Food with Cabernet Franc
Cabernet Franc is a versatile, food friendly wine. Less tannic than Cabernet Sauvignon, Cab Franc can still stand up to meat dishes but can also accompany lighter meals like this Portobello Mushroom Chicken Braise. Foods that pair with with Cab Franc include:
- Fresh herbs
- Portobello mushrooms
- Olives
- Goat cheese and feta cheese
I have had good success matching the herbal and green bell pepper notes in a typical Cab Franc with dishes that include those ingredients. As you can see with our Portobello Mushroom Chicken Braise ingredients, we have pulled in several of those Cab Franc friendly ingredients with good results.
If you’re trying to find a wine to pair with a challenging food, say spicy beef or something with fermented ingredients, consider Cab Franc! I was wondering what might pair well with the kimchi in our Korean beef dish, Bee Bim Bop, and sure enough, Cab Franc came out a winner.
We also loved Cab Franc paired with our Guacamole Cheeseburger! The Loire Cab Franc we had with that special burger picked up the spice and cilantro herbs in the guac very nicely.
How to Make Portobello Mushroom Chicken Braise
Our recipe card below covers the details, but let’s touch upon a few tips for making the Portobello Mushroom Chicken Braise.
- Mushrooms: You could substitute other mushrooms you enjoy, but keep in mind that the meaty portobello mushrooms do go particularly well with Cab Franc.
- Wine: The general advice is to cook with the same wine you are serving with the dish, is possible. Sorry, but I wasn’t going to sacrifice any of the Dracaena Reserve Cab Franc to the pan! I used some dry red wine I had on hand, I think it was Merlot. That worked fine.
- What pan to use? Any large pan will work. I have been using my Copper Chef pan for braises lately, it heats evenly and is easy to clean. Amazon affiliate link provided in case you’re interested in grabbing one.
- What to serve with it? You could serve the Portobello Mushroom Chicken with rice or mashed potatoes. We enjoyed it served over some farro, a hearty grain that went well with the portobello mushroom sauce. Farro can be a bit hard to find, so here’s another Amazon link to the farro I’ve ordered. We added a green salad to round out the healthy meal.
Dracaena Cabernet Franc Reserve
Let’s talk a bit more about the 2016 Dracaena Cabernet Franc Reserve ($45, 14.3% ABV) and how it paired with the meal. As described on the winery tech sheet, this reserve Cab Franc is made with grapes from Plummer Vineyard in Paso Robles. They used Clone 4 grapes, imported from Gironde, France. Clone 4 is known for its low yields.
A warm summer through September led to a fast paced harvest. After harvest, the wine is aged in 50% new French Oak. Head over to the winery website for more info on this Cab Franc and other wines they offer.
On the nose, the Dracaena Cab Franc Reserve has classic green bell pepper notes. On the palate, I taste raspberry fruit and notes of chocolate, with a nice long finish. The tech sheet tasting notes mention the toasted oak notes and baking spices on the finish, which I can see–probably what I was interpreting as chocolate.
As suspected, this special bottle of Cab Franc went very well with the Portobello Mushroom Chicken Braise. This is a big wine with lots of flavor, and I probably wouldn’t recommend it with a basic chicken dish–the wine would probably overpower it. But the chicken braised with meaty portobello mushrooms definitely match well with the Dracaena Cabernet Franc Reserve. In addition to that balance, the various spice notes on the wine pair well with the herbs use in the dish. The feta cheese also facilitates a successful pairing.
The overall verdict-the Portobello Mushroom Chicken Braise with the 2016 Dracaena Cabernet Franc Reserve is a winner!
PrintRecipe card
Portobello Mushroom Chicken Braise
Portobello mushrooms and chicken thighs slowly simmer with wine and herbs for a healthy and flavorful meal. Excellent paired with a good Cabernet Franc.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 mins
- Yield: 5 servings 1x
- Category: main
- Method: braise
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 5 boneless chicken thighs, about 1 ½ lbs
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 portobello mushrooms, stem removed, caps chopped into bite sized pieces
- ½ red or yellow bell pepper
- 3 cloves of garlic
- ½ cup dry red wine, divided
- 1 tsp marjoram
- ½ tsp of dried rosemary
- bundle of 5 thyme sprigs, bundled together with kitchen string
- ½ cup low sodium chicken broth
- 6 olives, sliced
- ⅓ cup feta cheese
Instructions
- Rinse and pat dry the chicken thighs. Season with salt and pepper.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large pan on medium heat. Add the chicken thighs, and brown on one side for about 2 to 3 minutes. Turn the chicken over and brown on the other side for another 2 minutes. Remove the chicken thighs to a platter and set aside.
- Add the other tablespoon olive oil to the pan used for the chicken, heat on medium. Add the onion to the pan, and cook until it begins to soften, about 5 minutes.
- Stir the portobello mushroom into the pan, combining with the onions. Cook about 5 minutes until the mushrooms begin to soften, then add ¼ cup of the cooking wine. Cook until most of the wine has been absorbed.
- Add the bell pepper and garlic to the pan, stirring to combine the ingredients. Add the chicken thighs back into the pan, along with the chicken broth. Stir in the marjoram and rosemary, then place the thyme sprig bundle into the pot.
- Cover the pan and cook on low for 40 minutes. Remove the cover and simmer for 5 additional minutes to reduce the sauce.
- Serve the portobello mushroom chicken over farro grain or rice. Top each serving with a few olives and sprinkling of the feta cheese. Enjoy with a good glass of Cabernet Franc!
Notes
- You can use other mushrooms if you like, but portobello mushrooms are recommended to make the pairing with Cabernet Franc work well.
- If you don’t have kitchen string handy to tie the thyme bundle, you can alternatively finely chop 5 sprigs of thyme leaves and add them to the portobello mushroom chicken braise.
Thank you for stopping by to learn about Cabernet Franc Wine. Please join us for twitter chat following #WinePW on Saturday, March 9, at 11 AM ET.
- 2 oz Pours: 5 Cali Cab Francs by Nicole of Somm’s Table
- At the Brasserie: Domaine de la Noblaie Pierre de Tuf 2014 with Chanterelle Mushroom & Herb Omelet by Cindy of Grape Experiences
- Lamb Stew Paired with Cabernet Franc Created by Couples from Gwendolyn of Wine Predator
- Cabernet Franc Food Pairings by Steven of Wine and Food Pairings
- Cabernet Franc Rosé Paired with Pasta e Piselli by Linda of My Full Wine Glass
- Cabernet Franc: A Vegetarian’s Best Friend by Lori of Dracaena Wines
- California Cab Franc with a Homey Casual Meal by A Day in the Life on the Farm
- Chicken + Loire Valley Cabernet Franc — A Devilishly Delicious Pairing by Nancy of Pull That Cork
- Experimenting Chilean Perez Cruz Cabernet Franc with Five (Sweet, Sour, Bitter, Salty and Umami) Tasty Meat by Pinny of Chinese Food and Wine Pairings
- Ironstone 2016 Cabernet Franc: Comparing the Reserve and the Not Reserve by Cam of Culinary Adventures with Camilla
- Leah Jørgensen’s Blanc de Cabernet Franc Paired with Red Lentil Soup by Lauren of The Swirling Dervish
- Portobello Mushroom Chicken Braise with Dracaena Reserve Cabernet Franc by David of Cooking Chat
- Made in China Sparkling Cabernet Franc Pairs Great with Weeknight Dinner by Traveling Wine Profs.
Next month’s WinePW will be hosted by Gwendolyn over at Wine Predator. She asks us to explore Bio-Dynamic Wines. Here’s her invitation post!
Lori
Thank you so much for choosing our Reserve Cabernet Franc for your #WinePW pairing. It sounds like it was a spectacular pairing. And thank you for being a Chalk Club member! Your Spring Release will be on its way soon!
Mary
The wine with this chicken dish is a match made in heaven!
Cooking Chat
Thanks Mary!
Jacqueline Debono
I’m not sure I can find this wine here in Italy but it sounds like a red I would like. I know not relevant but I love the dog on the label, looks like a weimaraner. As you may imagine I’m a weimaraner owner! Braised chicken with mushrooms is a great meal. I make it quite often. Yours looks delicious!
Cooking Chat
It might be challenging to find in Italy..but certainly many Italian reds could work here! Maybe a Nero d’Avola, or a Montepulciano d’Abruzzo.
Lori
Hi Jacqueline,
Thank you very much. YES! It is a weimaraner! He was our boy Draco. We had him for 14 wonderful years. He was named after the constellation of all the dragon souls. The tree that he is standing in front of on the label is a Draco Tree (genus Dracaena)
Unfortunately, we are not available in Italy. We are a boutique winery and do not export. But would love to see photos of you baby! And if you ever come to the US, please let us know, we do ship to the majority of states.
Lauren
Wonderful pairing, David! You can’t go wrong with a Dracaena wine, in my opinion, and the reserve sounds like it made the perfect match with your dish. And, by the way, I wouldn’t have used it to cook the dish either!
Lori
Thank you Lauren! We do pour our hearts and souls in to every bottle.
Nancy\Pull That Cork
All of your recipes look delicious, but your guacamole cheeseburger caught my eye. Bet it would also be delicious with ground lamb. The Dracaena Reserve Cab Franc sounds delish.
Cooking Chat
I like ground lamb idea for it Nancy!
Pam Greer
Oh, I’m going to have to look for that wine, it sounds delicious and so does the chicken!! I love the chicken/portobello mushroom combination!
Lori
Hi Pam,
Thank you! David does craft some incredible pairings! His food always looks amazing. We ship direct to consumers through our website. http://www.dracaenawines.com
Valentina
I know very little about wines, so I very much appreciate this post. So educational in terms of pairing. And the recipe looks and sounds outstanding! The ingredient list alone is mouth-watering. 🙂
Cooking Chat
Thanks Valentina! We typically include some good wine info along with our recipes here.
Diana
What an informative post! The wine sounds incredible, and the dish is mouth watering! Thank you for sharing.
Cooking Chat
Thanks Diana!
Wendy Klik
Your pairing sounds lovely. I’m jealous that you have a wine club membership for Lori’s wine. I can’t get it here in Michigan.
Cooking Chat
Oh that’s too bad that you can’t get Lori’s wine there!
Lori
We are working on it Wendy!
Nicole Ruiz-Hudson
This looks delicious, as per usual! I’m also going to try a Cab Franc the next time I have a cheeseburger with guac — sounds perfect!
Cynthia and Pierre
Yay to the guacamole cheeseburger – Loire Cab Franc combo! We ran into something along those lines last weekend, with a sort of hipster avocado toast with cumin, which we had with a glass of Bourgueil.
Cooking Chat
That sounds like a tasty pairing.
Pinny Tam
Great pairing between this Cab Franc and portobello mushroom chicken thigh with farro. I can imagine how tasty it is to eat the farro with the wine and feta cheese sauce 🙂
Cooking Chat
Thanks Pinny. It did work nicely together! We like feta cheese to add a bit of wine friendly flavor to dishes.
Cindy Rynning
As always, David, your pairings are spot on! I loved the recipe and of course, Lori’s wine – thank you for sharing this. Cheers!! Cindy
Cooking Chat
Thanks Cindy! We enjoyed finding a good Pairing for Lori’s wine.