Dijon-Style Baked Chicken

French poultry recipes are easy to adapt for GF dining, including this one, where generous use of mustard and cream give it a warm, rich taste.

I wish you could smell how fragrant this is coming out of the oven!

You may or may not have noticed, but it’s been over a month since I last published. I’m not sure I can entirely blame my lack of productivity on my dishwasher, but it was a pretty big factor. When the dishwasher broke (this was in my Washington, DC, apartment), it did so in a very sneaky way, slowly flooding my kitchen and my neighbor’s kitchen below me. (Tip: if your dishwasher ever flashes an “Error” message, turn off the water supply to the machine and pull the dishwasher out of its niche to see if any water has leaked out.) I’m still dealing with the cleanup, which involves the reconstruction of an entire kitchen cabinet. In the meantime, I’ve got bowls and utensils stored in boxes and scattered across countertops, leaving little room for a home cook to operate. But I did want to make one nice dish while I wait for my kitchen to be restored, and this Dijon-style baked chicken is the result.

The flavor of Dijon mustard matches beautifully with chicken, and this recipe is a testament to that. When baked with the chicken, the mustard loses its sharpness and mellows into a warm, almost earthy flavor—not what you might expect from an ingredient known for its kick. With the addition of a creamy mushroom sauce, this dish takes on the taste and feel of comfort food.

One result of cooking a recipe multiple times, as I have done here, is learning to improve it, either in efficiency or flavor. Figuring out how to make this classic French recipe gluten free was easy—instead of regular flour, use a GF flour blend to thicken the cream sauce. As I’ve mentioned in other recipes, King Arthur measure for measure GF flour works well for me for thickening sauces, although other blends that contain xanthan gum should work just as well.

I’ve also cut this recipe’s cooking time by eliminating a couple of steps that were in the original—I really don’t see the need to brown the chicken before coating it with the mustard mixture, for example.

For this recipe, I use chicken thighs with the bone and skin, but if you prefer boneless or skinless thighs, that should work as well—just be aware they will cook faster without the bone. If you’re a fan of white meat, try making this with chicken breasts (I haven’t tried it, but see no reason why it shouldn’t be delicious).

For this recipe, plan on 15 minutes of prep time, and about 35 minutes of cooking time. Also, plan on taking a stick of salted butter out of the fridge at least an hour before you start, so it has time to soften.

You’ll need a couple of mixing bowls, a rectangular baking dish large enough to hold 6 to 8 thighs, and a sauce pan. If you have a flat whisk, that will also come in handy for blending the mustard coating.

You’ll need chicken thighs; white wine; a blend of Dijon mustard, butter, and seasonings; heavy cream; white mushrooms; white onion; and garlic. You’ll also need (not shown) a gluten-free flour blend containing xanthan gum.

Ingredients:

For marinating the chicken:

• 6 to 8 chicken thighs

• ¼ cup Dijon mustard

• 2 tablespoons butter, softened (leave the butter out at room temperature about 1 hour before) (my original recipe called for unsalted butter, but I used salted, and it was fine)

• 1 tablespoon coarse salt

• 1 tablespoon ground black pepper

• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves

• 1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram or oregano (I often substitute oregano for marjoram, or vice versa, if I’m out of one or the other)

For the cream sauce:

• 2 tablespoons butter

• 1 cup sliced white onion

• 10 ounces white mushrooms, sliced

• 3 plump gloves of garlic, sliced (about 2 tablespoons)

• 2 tablespoons gluten-free flour blend (I used King Arthur Measure for Measure)

• ½ cup dry white wine

• ½ cup heavy cream

• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (325 F convection/fan)

• In a bowl, use a fork or flat whisk to thoroughly blend the ¼ cup mustard and 2 tablespoons butter with the salt, pepper, thyme, and oregano or marjoram

• Using your hands, rub about a tablespoon of the mixture on each of the chicken pieces, rubbing it under skin as well, and making sure the chicken is entirely coated; if you have some mixture left over after coating all the thighs, spread it over the chicken until it is gone

• Place the thighs in a baking dish and set it in the oven—bake for 30 minutes

• While the chicken is baking, make the sauce:

• Melt butter over medium heat in a sauce pan

• Put the sliced mushrooms, onions, and garlic in a large bowl and sprinkle the GF flour on top, then use your hands to toss the vegetables with the flour, making sure everything is evenly coated

• Once the butter is melted and bubbling in the pan, add the vegetables to the pan and use a wooden spatula to stir

• Stir the vegetables over medium heat until they are soft but not brown (maybe 5 minutes)

• Add the white wine and cream to the vegetables and stir constantly with the spatula to incorporate the flour into the liquid, scraping up all the flour stuck to the bottom of the pan; the sauce should thicken in a couple of minutes

• Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the teaspoon of mustard

• Remove the chicken from the oven when it is ready and pour the cream sauce evenly over all the thighs, making sure each piece gets a coat of cream

• Turn on the broiler to low and place the chicken beneath it for about 5 minutes until it browns lightly

• Serve with a side dish that will absorb the excess sauce, such as brown rice

  

  Coat the chicken with the mustard mixture; get it all over!

Coat the vegetables with GF flour.

Cook the vegetables and add the wine and cream to make a thick sauce.

After 30 minutes, you have one pan of baked chicken and one pan of creamy mushroom sauce. Pour the sauce over the chicken and it is either ready to eat as is, or put it under the broiler for a few minutes to brown, so it will look like the photo at top.

Bon appétit!