Baked Chicken with Chestnut Mushrooms, Pea Shoots and Rhubarb Sauce

Finally a use for rhubarb aside from pie

This is a great way to use leftover rhubarb sitting around after a pie. It also makes use of fresh pea shoots and chestnut mushrooms, all of which come in season at the same time.

Strain and keep the boiling liquid from the rhubarb for cocktails.

Baked Chicken with Pea Shoots, Chestnut Mushrooms and Rhubarb Sauce

For Rhubarb Sauce

• 1 cup roughly chopped rhubarb
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tsp dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup olive oil roughly

For Chicken

• 2 chicken breasts butterflied into 2 halves
• 1 cup breadcrumbs
• 2 tbsp fresh sage chopped fine
• 2 tbsp chopped parsley
• 4-6 cloves garlic roughly chopped
• 1 bunch pea shoots separated
• 1/2 lb chestnut mushrooms cleaned and cut into 1″ long pieces
• Salt/pepper

Boil rhubarb in 2 cups water until soft, strain and place in a blender. Add other sauce ingredients except oil and blend until smooth. With motor running add enough oil to create sauce. Season with salt and pepper and chill 1 hour. Mix breadcrumbs, sage, 1 tbsp parsley, salt and pepper together and coat chicken. Place in a well oiled baking dish and drizzle with more olive oil on top. Bake at 350 degrees until done, about 45 minutes. In a large frying pan melt 2 tbsp butter over medium heat. Add garlic and saute until fragrant then add mushrooms and saute until browned. Quickly add pea shoots and remaining parsley stir to coat and remove from heat. Do not over cook pea shoots. On a plate layer rhubarb sauce, chicken, pea shoot mixture and drizzle with a little more sauce.