Old school French home cooking

I decided to make a lovely old warhorse of a dish I vaguely remember cooking 20 odd years ago and my grandpa: Fricasée poulet a champignon avec purée pomme.

It's a simple country dish. Chicken leg quarters, in this case skinned because my partner doesn’t care for it and me and the dogs like fried chicken skin as a snackie, and marinated in a standard salt bath with a little white wine for an hour. It’s sizzled and then taken out for shallots, garlic and mushrooms. A local Asian market had oyster mushrooms cheap so I threw those in with the baby bellas and reduced them down with white wine, chicken stock and cream. Serve over mashed potatoes with a bit of truffle oil (I love it) and like a quarter stick of butter worked in.

Total cost of dish, because I still have truffle oil from a Christmas gift: $15. You can eat well and eat cheap, friends.

(To feed 4)

4 chicken quarters, skinned and split into leg and thigh

Marinade:

2 tbsp salt (kosher is best here, but live your life!)

4 tbsp sugar (literally any sugar)

A small glass of white wine. I like a Sauvignon Blanc here, but any dry white will do)

Cold water or ice water to cover

Marinate for 2-3 hrs

8 oz white mushrooms

1 large or two medium shallots, diced

3 cloves fresh garlic, diced.

Medium heat with a bit of vegetable oil and a pat of butter as cooking medium. Sizzle the vegetables and stir often to brown and reduce while avoiding burn.

Remove the vegetables, increase heat to medium high and add the chicken pieces. We are looking for browning here. If there’s brown bits on the bottom of the skillet all the better, just because.

Remove browned chicken and add two big fat glasses of that white wine. Scrape and scrape like your life depends on it and get that fond into the sauce. Get it to a simmer, add about 1 cup chicken stock, and then get the chicken and vegetables back in there when it’s simmering. Add a bay leaf and fresh thyme if you got it. Low simmer. Just bubbles on surface.

Meanwhile, let’s make mashed potatoes! Super easy. Peel (honestly I like the skin on but not for this dish. Peel ‘em. Fill your compost pot.)

And then dice the potatoes. Choose your favorite for mashed potatoes. I like Yukon golds. Many like russets. Whatever you love. Chop 'em up into about eights? I’m not sure. I’m not made of math.

Throw those chopped babies into a salted boiling water with a whole entire peeled shallot or like quarter of a white onion.

Make mashed potatoes. I don’t want to assume you don’t know how. If you don’t, when you stick a fork into a potato bit and it’s very soft, you are done.

Drain the potatoes and onion or shallot while leaving just a bit of the liquid. Add a half-stick of softened butter and maybe a glug of cream (because you have it already for the sauce) and mash away. If you have truffle oil drizzle maybe a half tablespoon into it. It goes a long way but it’s worth it.

Meanwhile, your chicken and mushrooms are done probably. When you feel like the chicken is done, go for it.

So take all the chicken and the bay leaf and thyme out and leave everything else in. Lowest heat. Whisk in about a cup of heavy cream whisking the whole way. When it’s emulsified into a sauce, taste, season (will need salt at least), whisk in two big pats of butter and whisk away again until it’s like almost gravy thickness but not quite and shiny.

SERVE! Potatoes, chicken stacked on top, sauce poured over everything. If you had the fresh thyme now is the time to chop it small and spread over the top. Give it just a little pinch of good salt and a turn from your pepper grinder.

This is old school French home cooking. Pair with a bit of crusty bread so you have something to wipe up the sauce and leftover bits of chicken.