Chicken Chasseur (Hunters Chicken)
Chicken Chasseur is a classic French dish, also known as hunters, chicken, originated with hunters who would use wild game and mushrooms which they had foraged, it became popular in the UK in the late1960s when bistros started popping up all over the country.
It is relatively easy to prepare and can be cooked and served in the same pot. It traditionally uses chicken legs and thighs to get the stronger flavour.
It is ideal for cooler summer days, and it's normally served with hot crusty bread or mashed potatoes, and a classic French lettuce salad with a garlic dressing.
I first had chicken cooked this way when I was 13 and staying as an exchange student with a French Jewish family just outside Paris. The father who unusually enough in those days prepared was a Holocaust survivor both he and his younger brother had escaped from one of the camps and had lived in the forest for 18 months during their teenage years.
This he told me was his mother's chicken chasseur recipe one of the few memories he had of her, but he used to cook this by her side.
Even at 13 I had a keen enough interest in cooking to be entrusted this recipe which their daughter translated from French for me
Ideally you need a good strong iron casserole dish with a tight-fitting lid that can go on the top of the cooker and in the oven, If you don't have one of these any thick bottom saucepan that has a tight lid.
Although there are other recipes for this dish some of which a cooked in a slow cooker, some add carrots I prefer to use the original one that I was given over 60 years ago by a gentleman honouring the memory of his mother.
Ingredient serves 4.
4 medium bottom portions of chicken (legs and thighs.) Washed with cold water dried and set aside.
1 medium brown onion chopped finely
200 grammes of mushrooms, I tend to use chestnut mushrooms.
4 cloves of garlic peeled and chopped or crushed.
2 Bay leaves
3-4 sprigs of fresh thyme depending on the size washed and set aside to dry.
500 ml of chicken stock (or chicken soup)
Approximately 300ml red wine,
1.5 tsp olive oil
30 g Tomor or plant butter
I tablespoon tomato puree
salt and pepper to taste.
Method
Heat the olive oil on a medium heat with the Tomor or plant butter In your casserole or saucepan, season the chicken legs with salt and pepper and fry them for about four minutes on each side till they become brown, then using a slotted spoon remove them and set them aside for the time being.
Put the onion and garlic into the casserole dish and cook them on a low light for about 6 minutes till they become soft it's important they don't caramelise. Then add the mushrooms, Thyme, and Bay leaves, cook for 2-3 minutes.
At this stage add the wine, the tomato puree, stir, increase the heat till the mixture is bubbling let it reduce for about 5 minutes before adding the chicken stock.
At this stage place the chicken legs back into the casserole dish cover it and simmer on a low heat for about an hour until the chicken is tender.
After an hour test the chicken remove them from the pan and place them somewhere to keep warm, then rapidly reduce the stock for a further 10 minutes until it's quite thick that way all the flavours will have combined.
Put the chicken legs back into the sauce, reduce the heat cook for another 2 minutes so that the chicken at the absorbs the flavour of the thicker sauce and serve.