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This stunning recipe looks harder than it is. The flaky pastry can be store-bought (it doesn’t get easier!) and if you can tie shoes, you’ll be adept at creating this braided look. Packed with delicious chicken confit, mixed mushrooms, spinach, truffle butter béchamel, and two types of cheese, this is a whole new level of comfort food.

Chicken Confit Pastry with Mushrooms, Spinach, & Truffle Butter Béchamel

Ingredients

Chicken Confit

2 already prepared chicken leg and thigh confit

or

2 chicken legs (thigh and drumstick)

Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper

2 large shallots, unpeeled, quartered

1 head of garlic, unpeeled, halved crosswise

8 sprigs thyme, divided

1 1/2 cups olive oil

(BTW... A prepared rotisserie chicken works wonderfully as well!)

Filling

4 tablespoons black truffle butter, divided use/bechamel

1 medium shallot, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1/3 lb wild mushrooms, chopped

Kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, chopped

1 cup fresh baby spinach leaves, roughly chopped

Truffle Butter

1 pound unsalted butter, room temperature

White truffle oil to taste

Coarse sea salt or fleur de sel

Bechamel

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 cup whole milk

dash of fresh nutmeg

Puff Pastry

1 sheet best quality frozen puff pastry, thawed in the fridge

2 ounces Asiago cheese, grated

2 ounces young Fontina cheese, grated

Preparation

Chicken Confit (if using ready made)

Remove skin from the chicken leg confit, discard. Remove all the meat from the bones; chop into ½-inch chunks. Set aside.

Chicken Confit From Scratch

Preheat oven to 275°F. Season chicken legs with salt and pepper on both sides and nestle into a 11/2-quart baking dish. Arrange shallots, garlic, and 6 thyme sprigs around chicken and pour oil over. Bake until chicken is cooked through and tender and shallots and garlic have started to caramelize, 2–2 1/2 hours.

When cooked, remove chicken from the oven. Pour off infused oil. Let cool. Remove all the meat from the bones; chop into ½-inch chunks. Set aside.

Truffle Butter

In a small mixing bowl, combine the butter and truffle oil together. Season with salt to taste.  On a large piece of plastic wrap, spoon the butter/truffle mixture and form into a log, about 1-inch thick. Wrap the log tightly. May also transfer the butter to a ramekin or crock, and cover securely. Refrigerate for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 1 month.  You certainly can use fresh black truffles for this recipe, but to save hundreds of dollars, the truffle oil works quite well.  Be careful though, too much truffle oil will completely over power anything that it's combined with.

Filling

In a medium skillet over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons of truffle butter. Add shallot and garlic, sauté until shallots are soft and garlic is fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add mushrooms and thyme; season with salt and pepper. Raise heat to medium-high and continue to sauté until mushrooms have exuded their liquid and are golden brown, about 6-7 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in spinach and reserved chicken confit, set aside.

Bechamel Sauce

In a small saucepan over medium-high heat melt remaining 2 tablespoons truffle butter. Whisk in flour and cook until flour is golden brown, whisking occasionally, about 3 minutes. Gradually whisk in milk until smooth. Lower heat to medium-low and cook, whisking until mixture is thickened and completely smooth, about 3 minutes. Season béchamel to taste with salt, pepper, and nutmeg if using; set aside.

Puff Pastry

On a lightly floured work surface roll out pastry to about a 12×12 inch square. Move pastry to a sheet pan lined with a silicone baking mat or 2 layers of parchment. Visually split the pastry into thirds horizontally and gently mark with the back (dull side) of a knife. At the top of the sheet, cut 3/4” strips at a 45-degree angle on each outer third.

Spread half of the béchamel evenly over the center section of the pastry. Sprinkle 1/2 of the grated cheeses over the béchamel then spread chicken/mushroom mixture on top. Spread remaining béchamel over the chicken/mushroom mixture along with the remaining cheese.

Fold over the top edge of the pastry, middle portion (to prevent the filling from leaking out) then stretch the top right strip across the filling and tuck under. Repeat with the top left strip, crossing the first. Continue with the remaining strips, alternating sides until you reach the bottom 2 strips. Fold the bottom edge up over the filling (again to prevent the mixture from leaking out) and secure by folding over the last 2 strips, tucking them under the pastry. Chill braid in the fridge for about 15 minutes before baking.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Bake until pastry is puffed and deeply golden and filling is bubbling, about 25-30 minutes. Cool for about 10 minutes before serving.

Plating/Presentation

Slice with a sharp serrated knife and then plate.  A delicious chilled mixed green salad would be wonderful particularly if it's dressed with a light citrus vinaigrette. Cut just what you are going to serve. Leaving whats left whole will keep better in the refrigerator.

Recipe tips: Depending on the size of your puff pastry, you may have a little extra filling leftover. It’s delicious tossed with pasta, olive oil, and a little Asiago cheese.

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