Chicken Chasseur

 Today we are going to share this tantalizing classic french dish with all our fellow home chefs here on the East coast of Africa and around this great world of ours.

This is comfort food at its best.
Firstly a very  quick overview: This French recipe is prepared using sautéed chicken that is cooked crisp and a chasseur sauce (sometimes called Hunters sauce ) consisting of tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, white wine, brandy and tarragon. The sauce for hunter's chicken is typically prepared and thickened by the process of reduction.

• 4 - 6 pieces of chicken thighs.
• 125g diced bacon.
  
• 6 shallots or pickling onions peeled and then halved.
• 400g mushrooms cut into chunks
  

For the sauce you will need

• 250ml(1 cup) white wine.
• 250ml(1 cup) chicken stock.
• 30ml (2Tbsp.)
• 45ml (3 Tbsp. ) cake flour.
• 100g Butter
• 10ml (2tsp) cooking oil.
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper.
• 2 med size bay leaves.

• Preheat your oven to 180°C (350°F}.
• Grease an oven proof dish.
• In a frying pan fry your bacon until brown, transfer to the prepared oven dish.
• Season the Chicken pieces with salt and pepper.
• Place half the butter in the same frying pan and brown the chicken
• Transfer Chicken to oven dish. 
  
• Again in the same frying pan brown the shallots and mushrooms ,transfer to the oven dish.
• Mix the chicken stock, wine and tomato paste and bring to the boil.
• Mix the remaining butter with the flour and stir knobs of the mixture into the liquid.
• Whisk while heating until sauce thickens slightly and comes to the boil. 
• Season with salt and black pepper and add the bay leaves.
• Taking care not to burn yourself pour sauce over the chicken and combine.
• Cover and bake for app.1½ hours or until chicken is done.

Plating

• Serve with Creamy mash potatoes (Banting dieters can use mash cauliflower or mash sweet potatoes).
• Oven roasted potatoes.(Banting dieters use roasted Sweet potatoes)
  
• Maybe some of you like Basmati or any other rice.(Dieters can use Cauliflower rice.)
• And of course lets not forget a side dish of fresh French salad.
• Garlic butter French bread roll.
• Last but not least a glass of either a light-bodied Merlot. Coq-au-vin: Red Burgundy, Pinot Noir.
• Now all that's left to do is summons the family to the dinning table.

This article was printed from Home-Cooking-Haven.com.com

Oven Temperatures

Cooking Terms and Tips

Al Dente: Usually applied to Pasta, means cooked until just done, but not soft. The pasta should still maintain some "bite:

Barbeque:  To cook foods over coals, known as a Braai in South Africa (The best in the world for this type of cooking).

Baste: To moisten food for added flavor and to prevent drying out while cooking.

Blanch: To cook briefly in boiling water to seal in flavour and color.

Bouquet Garni: A tied bundle of herbs, usually parsley, thyme, and bay leaves that are added to flavor soups, stews, and sauces but removed before serving.

Braise: Two cook first by browning, then gently simmer till done.

Bread: To coat with crumbs or cornmeal before cooking.

Broil: To cook on a rack or spit during or over direct heat, usually in an on top

Brown: Two cook over high heat, usually on top of the stove, to brown food..

Caremelize: To Heat sugar until it liquefies and becomes a syrup.

Core: To remove the seeds or tough woody centers from fruits and vegetables.

Cream: The butterfat portion of milk.   Also to beat ingredients, sually sugar and a fat, until smooth and fluffy.

Cube: To cut foot into small  ½ inch cubes.

Cut In: To distribute a solid fat in flour using a cutting motion, with 2 knives used scissors-fashion or a pastry blender, until divided evenly into tiny pieces.  Usually refers to naking pastry.

Croutons: These are tiny cubes of toasted or fried bread, used as a garnish for

Coriander:  Also known as Dhania

Dollop: A spoonful of soft food such as whipped cream or mashed potatoes.

Dot: To scatter butter in bits over food.

Dress: To coat foods such as salad with a sauce.  Also, to clean fish, poultry or game for cooking.

Drippings: Juices and fats rendered by meat or poultry while cooking.

Drizzle: To pour melted butter, oil, syrup, melted chocolate, or other liquid back and forth over food in a fine stream.

Experiment:   Always keep to the basics, but, take out and put in spices etc to your tastes.

Fines Herbs: A mixture of herbs, normally parsley, chervil, chives and tarragon used to flavour fish, chicken and eggs.

Glace: To coat foods with glossy mixtures such as jellies or sauces.

Julienne: To cut into long thin strips match-sticklike in shape

Macerate: To soak in flavoured liquid; usually refers to fruit

Picked Over:  If you are working with lentils or other beans you might sometimes find a few little rocks that managed to sneak their way in, picked over means to make sure there are none left in what you are going to be using.

Poach: To cook gently over very low heat  ib barely simmering liquid just to cover.

Puree: To mash or grind food until completely smooth. usually in a food processor, blender, sieve, or food mill.

Ragout:  The basic method of preparation involves slow cooking over a low heat.

Reduce: To thicken a liquid and concentrate its flavor by boiling.

Render: To cook fatty meat or poultry - such as bacon or goose - over low heat to obtain drippings.

Sear:  To brown surface of meat quickly over a high heat, to seal in juices.

Simmer: To cook in liquid at just below boiling point, with only a few bubbles breaking the surface.

Skim:  To remove surface foam or fat from a liquid

Seep:  To soak in a  liquid just under the boiling point to extract the essence i.e. Tea.

Truss: To tie whole poultry with skin or skewers so it will hold its shape in cooking.

Whip: To beat eggs or cream with a wire whisk, egg beater or electric mixer which increases the volume as air is incorporated into the eggs or cream

Zest: The outer, colored part of the peel of citrus fruits.

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