Mushroom and coconut cream sauce: the dairy-free pan sauce for chicken and cauliflower

Mushrooms are one of the most important umami sources in AIP cooking. Umami - the fifth taste, sometimes described as savory or meaty depth - comes primarily from glutamate compounds. Most of the conventional umami sources (soy sauce, Parmesan, tomato paste, fish sauce) are either excluded on AIP or need to be sourced carefully. Mushrooms are unrestricted, deeply savory, and work in almost any sauce context.

This sauce is built in the pan after searing chicken or another protein. The fond from the meat, the browned shallot and garlic, and the mushrooms all contribute layers of flavor. A tablespoon of canned pumpkin goes in at the deglazing stage - it sounds unusual, but it provides a small amount of body and a faint sweetness that rounds out the savory elements without tasting like pumpkin. The coconut milk gives the sauce its cream-sauce character: pale, slightly thick, and rich.

Mushrooms supply beta-glucans, a category of polysaccharide with documented immune-modulating effects that may be particularly relevant for people managing autoimmune conditions. Regular dietary inclusion is a lower-cost way to access these compounds than supplemental forms.

AIP note: Use bone broth in place of any white wine. Coconut milk is AIP-compliant. Pumpkin is AIP-compliant. No modifications needed otherwise.

Ingredients

• 1 shallot, minced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 8 oz mushrooms, sliced (cremini, shiitake, or a mix)
• 1 tbsp canned pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup chicken or beef bone broth (room temperature)
• 1/4 cup full-fat coconut milk
• 2 to 3 sprigs fresh thyme, or 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tbsp lard, coconut oil, or rendered bacon fat
• Fine sea salt, to taste

Yield: About 1 cup sauce, serving 4.

Method

Heat the cooking fat in a skillet (or in the pan you just seared protein in) over medium heat. Add the shallot and cook, stirring, until softened and just beginning to turn golden, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more.

Add the mushrooms. Cook without stirring for 2 minutes to let them brown on one side, then stir and continue cooking until the mushrooms have released their liquid and re-browned, about 5 minutes total. They should look dry and caramelized at the edges, not wet and steamed.

Add the canned pumpkin and stir to coat the mushrooms. Cook 1 minute.

Pour in the bone broth and scrape up any fond from the bottom of the pan. Add the thyme sprigs. Bring to a simmer and cook for 2 minutes until slightly reduced.

Reduce the heat to low. Stir in the coconut milk. Simmer gently for 2 to 3 minutes until the sauce has thickened slightly and looks creamy. Remove the thyme sprigs. Taste and adjust the salt.

Note on coconut milk: Use full-fat canned coconut milk, not carton coconut beverage, which is too thin and will not give the sauce its creamy character.

How to use it

• Spoon over a spatchcocked or jointed roast chicken as a plating sauce
• Serve over pan-seared chicken thighs or pork chops
• Pour over cauliflower steaks or roasted cauliflower as a vegetarian main
• Use as a sauce for AIP meatballs over spaghetti squash
• Spoon over a bowl of cassava noodles or sweet potato noodles as a dairy-free stroganoff base

Storage

Refrigerator: up to 3 days. Reheat gently over low heat, stirring in a splash of broth if the sauce has thickened too much on cooling. Do not boil - boiling can cause the coconut milk to separate.

*Adapted from autoimmunewellness.com/grape-roasted-chicken-with-mushroom-cream-sauce/ by Angie Alt*