Chicken Marengo

Serves 4

50g butter
1 tablespoon sunflower oil
1 medium chicken 1.8kg cut into 8 serving pieces (ask your butcher to do this ‘to sauté’ and you will get 8 pieces)
4 banana shallots
50g plain flour
300ml dry white wine
150ml chicken stock
1 x 400g can chopped tomatoes
400g button mushrooms
2 tablespoons tomato purée
50ml brandy
2 garlic cloves, crushed
a handful of chopped parsley
salt and black pepper
4 large, thick cut slices of bread
3 tablespoons olive oil

1 sprig of rosemary
300g cooked crayfish, peeled (prawns will do if you can’t find crayfish)

Preheat the oven to 180oC. Melt the butter with the oil in a
large flameproof casserole. Add the chicken pieces when the butter starts to foam, and cook until brown. This should take about 10–12 minutes. Remove the chicken and place on some kitchen paper.

Add the shallots and cook well. When they get some colour after about 8 minutes or so remove them and leave on a kitchen paper.

Drain off most of the fat from the casserole dish and add the flour, and cook, until lightly browned. Throw in the wine and stock then turn the heat down and gently simmer for about 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes, mushrooms, tomato purée, brandy, garlic, parsley (hold a bit back for garnish), and salt and pepper to taste.

Return the shallots and chicken to the casserole and turn the heat up. Once it boils cover and cook in the preheated oven for 1 hour or until the chicken is almost tender.

Cut bread into small cubes and drizzle with the oil ensuring it is well coated. Chop the rosemary finely and sprinkle over the bread and bake at 180oC for 15 minutes or until the croutons are golden. Turn them a couple of times.

Stir in the crayfish or prawns, and return to the oven for 10 minutes. Garnish each serving with chopped parsley and croutons then serve.

Recipe taken from ‘Who Put The Beef In Wellington’ published by Kyle Books