Chicken Fricasse

This was a dish that included all of my favourite ingredients - chicken, mushrooms and cream! My girls are away this weekend, so I made this for just the 3 of us, which meant plenty to go round. The sauce was so tasty I was almost tempted to lick my plate. You could use sliced onion instead of shallots if you wished, it wouldn't make a huge difference to the flavour. Serve it whichever vegetables you like, and perhaps a big dollop of creamy mash. I always like to use up whatever veg I have left in the fridge - which happened to be carrots & green beans today.It tastes just as great

Serves 4

8 chicken thighs
2 tablespoons butter
250g button mushrooms
12 shallots
400ml chicken stock
250ml white wine
75ml double cream
1 bouquet garni (bay leaf, thyme stalk & parsley stalk tied together)
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
salt & pepper to season

Heat the oven to 180c. Melt 1 tblspn butter in a flame-proof casserole dish, and brown the chicken on both sides until golden. Remove with a slotted spoon to a plate. Add the wine, allow to bubble for a minute then add the stock. Chuck in the bouquet garni, and stir while it bubbles & thickens. After about 5 minutes, season & taste then add the chicken on top, cover & pop into the oven for 1 hour.
Melt the remaining  butter in a frying pan, and brown the mushrooms & shallots for around 5/6 minutes. Add to the casserole dish with the chicken, and return to the oven for another hour.

Serve the chicken to the plates, leaving the stock behind in the dish. Add the cream & parsley, and mix through. Taste & season, then pour over the chicken.