How To Make Chicken Chasseur

You can buy Chasseur sauce in jars or packet mixes in the supermarket, but it’s almost as simple, and certainly more cost effective, to make at home. Use whichever cut of chicken you like, but thighs are a cheaper option than breast meat and you can get away with a smaller quantity of any type of meat when it’s served in a thick sauce. (If you haven’t got white wine, use red, or even sherry will do.)

1. Step 1:

   Remove the chicken skin, wash and trim any fatty bits off the meat then season with salt and pepper. Peel and chop the onions, or leave them whole if they’re small enough, ditto the mushrooms.

2. Step 2:

   Warm a very little oil in a very large pan and brown the chicken thighs two or three at a time by cooking for a few minutes and turning once. (Don’t put all the meat in the pan at the same time; if you do the chicken will just cook in its own steam without browning.)

3. Step 3:

   Put the chicken thighs in a large casserole dish and sprinkle with tarragon.

4. Step 4:

   Add a tablespoon of butter to the pan then fry the onions and mushrooms together for a few more minutes before putting them in the casserole dish with the chicken.

5. Step 5:

   Add the stock, wine and chopped tomatoes to the pan with the sugar and a good squeeze each of tomato and garlic purée; stir well, bring to the boil and thicken the sauce with more tomato purée (or a little gravy browning or instant gravy granules) if necessary.

6. Step 6:

   Cook in a preheated oven, Gas Mark 5 (190°C) for about half an hour until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce is bubbling. Serve with potatoes or rice and extra vegetables or salad.

7. Don’t chuck out tomatoes, even if they’re slightly soft and wrinkly and past their best; make an alternative to sun dried tomatoes (kind of) by baking them in the oven. Keep covered in the fridge and use in meat and other tomato based sauces.