Chicken Breast with Asparagus, Morels and Lemon Sauce

Ingredients

• 20 g dried morel mushrooms
• 1.2 l chicken broth
• 2 sprigs thyme
• 1 untreated lemon
• 4 chicken breast fillets (about 120 g each)
• 500 g Green Asparagus
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• Salt
• ground pepper
• 75 ml heavy cream
• 1 tsp Cornstarch
• chili flakes

Instructions

1. 1.

   Soak the morels in cold water for about an hour, then drain and strain the soaking liquid through a cloth to keep it.

2. 2.

   Heat almost 1 l of broth just below boiling point and add thyme. Grate some zest from the lemon, halve it and slice thinly for garnish; place a thick slice into the broth. Rinse the chicken breasts and poach them in the broth for about 20 minutes.

3. 3.

   Peel the lower third of the asparagus and cut the stalks diagonally into 4‑5 cm pieces. Sauté them in hot oil until colorless, deglaze with a splash of broth, season, cover and steam gently for about 5 minutes. Finally, add the morels, season with salt and pepper.

4. 4.

   For the sauce, bring the remaining chicken broth to a boil with 2–3 tbsp of the mushroom liquid and the cream. Whisk in cornstarch mixed with a little cold water and thicken lightly. If needed, add more broth from the poached chicken. Stir in lemon zest, a splash of lemon juice, salt and pepper.

5. 5.

   Remove the chicken breasts from the broth, let them rest briefly, then slice diagonally onto the asparagus‑morel mix. Drizzle the sauce over (whip with a hand blender if desired) and garnish with lemon slices and chili flakes before serving.