Garlicky mushroom and shallot gravy with chicken and roast vegetables

Ingredients

2-3 cups vegetables of your choice, such as Brussels sprouts, butternut squash, fennel bulb, asparagus, carrots, green beans--most any heat tolerant vegetable your soul desires

1-2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons of minced fresh herbs, such as rosemary, thyme, and/or sage

salt and pepper to taste

2 lbs. chicken of your choice (thighs, tenderloin, breast, etc.)

3 tablespoons clarified butter*, separated

1 head of garlic, cloves peeled

1 lb. mushrooms, sliced (button, cremini, shiitake, oyster, etc.)

2-3 shallots, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons rendered chicken fat (compensate with olive oil or clarified butter if deficient)

3 T oat flour

1/2 cup white wine

2 cups chicken stock

Instructions

Prepare vegetables by dicing up into similarly sized pieces so they cook evenly. Coat in olive oil and preferred seasoning and space evenly on a baking sheet. Roast at 425ºF until crunchy-tender and precisely how you like them. This is going to be around 10-20 minutes based on what your prefer. It's best to time everything to finish up with the main dish. I like to have the oven temp and vegetables ready to go when the time is right. Use your best judgement here.

Meanwhile, preheat a cast iron skillet over medium heat, add a drizzle of olive oil and sear chicken on both sides and set aside. The time and temperature will vary depending on the cut of chicken and whether or not the skin is present. In general, skin-on (higher flavor, fat, and calorie content) benefits from the caramelization of higher temps, but boneless and skinless pieces (usually lower fat and calorie content) require a medium temp and less time. You are not trying to cook through--this is just for flavor and aesthetics. Next, whip up some garlic confit in the same skillet by poaching whole, peeled garlic cloves in clarified butter (and leftover chicken schmaltz) until it nearly melts. Add mushrooms and shallots and sauté until just tender. To transform this to gravy, first make a roux by adding more clarified butter/chicken fat to equal about 2 tablespoons, then flour and cook for a couple of minutes to mellow out, then add white wine and chicken stock, while whisking constantly to prevent clumps. Keep whisking or stirring until thickening has ceased. This may require more liquid or time to satisfy your needs. Season with S&P to taste and add chicken back in and simmer over low heat on the stovetop or place in in the the hot oven with vegetables until done, about 10-15 min.

*Clarifying butter removes the milk solids, which are what causes butter to burn if cooked for a long time or at high temperatures. Clarified butter is made by heating up a stick of butter over low-medium heat, until it’s melted. Let simmer gently until the foam rises to the top of the melted butter. The butter may splatter a bit, so be careful. Once the butter stops spluttering, and no more foam is rising to the surface, remove from heat and skim off the foam with a spoon.