MINCED CHICKEN ON TOAST

Minced Chicken on Toast image

Number Of Ingredients 9

2 teaspoons butter
2 or 3 button mushrooms or cremini, ﬁnely chopped
1 scallion, ﬁnely chopped
1 tablespoon Madeira
3/4-1 cup cooked chicken, cut into very small pieces-i.e., minced
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup Cream Sauce (page 164), or 2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 slice good white bread or English mufﬁn, toasted
A sprinkling of tarragon, fresh or dried

Steps:

Melt the butter in a small pan, and add the mushrooms and scallion. Cook gently for about 5 minutes, to soften. Splash in the Madeira, and cook down until syrupy.
Add the chicken, season with salt and pepper, and heat through, stirring in enough of the cream sauce to bind the chicken or use heavy cream. Spoon everything over toast, and sprinkle a little tarragon on top.
I like to surround my mince with a green vegetable, such as asparagus or peas when in season.
Variations
This mince is good made with the remains of a holiday turkey, and if you have some chestnuts left over, by all means use a couple of them, roughly chopped, in place of the mushrooms.
Another accompaniment I tried recently was some young milkweed pods, their tender leaves and buds still closed. I steamed them for about 8 minutes, then bathed them in sweet butter and a few drops of lemon. It made for an early-summer treat, just right with an old-fashioned New England mince.