Chicken Fricassée

Creamy and soul-satisfying, this French dish consists of browned chicken braised in a creamy mushroom sauce. We like to serve this with good-quality buttered bread for mopping up all of the amazing juices! This recipe makes 4 servings.

PREP TIME: 20 minutes
COOK TIME: 1 hours 0 minutes

Ingredients
For the chicken:
8 chicken thighs
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper

For the stew:
1 pound white mushrooms, brushed clean and sliced in half
2 yellow onions, peeled and sliced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 bay leaf
3 sprigs fresh thyme
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/2 cup dry white wine
3 cups chicken stock
2/3 cup heavy cream
Salt and pepper, to taste
Freshly chopped Italian parsley, for garnish

Directions
Heat oil and butter in a Dutch oven or large, heavy skillet to medium-high on the stove top. Add chicken pieces, skin side down, and cook for 5-6 minutes. You are not trying to cook the chicken through at this point, only brown the outside. Once chicken is browned, transfer chicken to a plate and set aside.

Add mushrooms and onions to the same pan; stir to coat with the fat. Cook for 5 minutes, until the mushrooms begin to brown and release some of their water. Add garlic and flour; stir the vegetable mixture and cook for one minute. Add the wine, making sure to scrape up and browned bits from the bottom of the pan with the back of a wooden spoon. Cook for 3-4 minutes, until the wine is reduced by half. Add stock to the pan, stir and add chicken back in, skin side up.

Reduce heat to medium and let simmer for 20 minutes. Remove chicken from pan, add cream to pan and stir. Add chicken back to pan, taste and adjust seasoning, garnish with parsley and serve immediately.