Chicken chasseur

A classic dish all over France, this is also known as hunter's chicken. I’ve been cooking this dish for over 30 years now, and it’s still as good as when I tried it for the very, very first time in a restaurant in St Emilion.

Credit: James Martin's French Adventure

• serves

  6

• prep

  25 minutes

• cook

  55 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 1 whole chicken
• Olive oil and butter, for browning
• 16 pieces streaky bacon
• 5 shallots
• 2 cloves garlic
• Bunch fresh tarragon
• 3 tsp tomato puree
• 1½ tsp flour
• 375 ml (half a bottle) red wine
• 1.5 litre chicken stock
• 250 g chestnut mushrooms
• 5 tomatoes

Potato mash

• 800 g potatoes, peeled and chut into chunks (see Note)
• 250 ml thick (double) cream
• 125 g butter

Instructions

1. Remove the tops of the chicken legs and portion up the chicken into four pieces of white meat and four pieces of brown meat.
2. Pour a splash of olive oil into a large frying pan. Heat. Put the chicken into the pan to brown for a couple of minutes each side. Add two knobs of butter halfway through.
3. While the chicken is browning, slice up the bacon into cubes and peel and halve the shallots.
4. Once golden in colour, lift the chicken out of the pan and into a bowl. Set to one side.
5. Put the shallots and bacon into the hot pan and colour.
6. Add 2 crushed garlic cloves (skin on), and half the tarragon and brown for a minute. Then add tomato puree. Stir in and cook out. After a minute, sprinkle over the flour.
7. Pour in the red wine. Stir, then pour in the chicken stock.
8. Add the chicken back in and bring to the boil.
9. Add the chestnut mushrooms.
10. Chop the tomatoes into eighths and add to the pan, with a sprinkle of salt and pepper to season.
11. Bring to the boil and let simmer for 30-40 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through.
12. Meanwhile, make the mash: add the potato to a pot of water, bring to the boil and then simmer until tender. Passed through a ricer or mash well, then heat in a pan with cream and 100 g of the butter. Mix well, seasoning to task with salt and pepper.
13. Serve the chicken with mash, finished with more fresh tarragon, butter and seasoning.

Note

• James suggests Maris Piper potatoes, a popular English potato. For an Australian equivalent, try King Edward, Dutch cream, sebago, coliban or other starchy varieties.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.