Chicken Chasseur

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 170C, then season chicken generously with salt and pepper.

2. Slice mushrooms thickly and finely dice the shallots.

3. On the stove, heat a lump of butter (about 1 - 2 tbsp) plus a good lug of olive oil in an oven safe pan (we used cast iron). Get it nice and hot, then add the chicken skin side down and fry for 5 - 7 mins or until the skin looks crispy. 

4. Flip the chicken over, then drain off most of the butter/oil into a second pan. Add a few sprigs of the fresh herbs on top of the chicken then slide the chicken (still in the first, oven safe pan) into the oven and bake for about 50 mins.

5. In the second pan with the butter, sauté the diced shallots. Allow these to cook for a couple of minutes, then add the mushrooms and cook for a further 5 mins or until they start to get some nice colour.

6. Add a little more butter if needed, then pour in wine to deglaze the pan (if you like, you can substitute ¼ cup of the wine for Cognac). Reduce for a few minutes, then add tomato paste, stirring through, followed by the beef and chicken stock.

7. Leave to simmer and reduce on the stove until the chicken is finished cooking, checking periodically. If it’s not thickening as fast as you’d like, you can add a spoonful of flour to thicken the sauce, but if you have time we really recommend reducing it without flour as the extra time gives a gorgeous depth of flavour to the sauce. 

8. Serve sauce and chicken together with creamy mashed potatoes and a final sprinkle of fresh herbs.