A velouté is a french term meaning that the soup has been thickened, in this case using chicken stock, flour and butter, giving it a smooth and creamy texture. The word velouté comes from the word velour which means velvet. Mushrooms are in season at the moment so when I found I had too many left in the fridge I decided to make a mushroom velouté – a great way to use them up and a great starter or lunch!

Ingredients :

• 300g button mushrooms
• 1 small onion
• 50g butter
• 250ml chicken stock
• 500ml milk
• 2 tablespoons of flour
• Salt and Pepper
• 1 tablespoon of chopped parsley (if you have it!)
• 1/2 lemon

Method :

1. Melt the butter in a saucepan and add the chopped onion and the chopped mushrooms
2. Add salt, pepper and finely chopped parsley and mix well
3. Cover the pan and leave to cook on a gentle heat for 15 minutes
4. After 15 minutes sprinkle in 2 tablespoons of flour, mixing all the time
5. Pour in 250ml of stock and 500ml of milk while mixing continuously (to avoid any lumps)
6. Gradually bring to the boil and then lower the heat and allow to simmer gently for another 15 minutes (leave the lid off the saucepan)
7. Mix your soup with a blender or food processor
8. Just before serving add the juice of half a lemon

This recipe is called Poulet Forestier in french which translates to “forest chicken” in english. The word forestier in the name comes from the sauce which is called une sauce forestière because of the mushrooms in the recipe and is a perfect autumn dish. Typically a forestier sauce does not have mustard in it but I find it gives a little something special to the sauce! 🙂

The below serves my family (2 adults, 3 children), I would say it serves 4 adults perfectly.

Ingredients :

• 4 chicken fillets
• 40g butter
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 20cl dry white wine
• 1 small onion
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 15cl chicken stock
• 250g mushrooms
• Salt & pepper
• 1 tablespoon of mustard
• 20cl of creme fraîche or liquid cream

Method :

1. Heat the butter in a large pan and brown the chicken fillets
2. Sprinkle in the flour and mix well, then pour in the white wine and continue mixing
3. Add the chopped onion, the garlic, the chicken stock and the mushrooms
4. Season with salt and pepper and then cover the pan and leave it to simmer for about 30 minutes
5. After 30 minutes remove the chicken fillets from the pan.
6. Add the mustard and cream (or crème fraîche) to the pan and mix well so that you get a nice creamy sauce
7. Put the chicken back in the pan and serve hot with potatoes or rice.