For many years when I was younger, I thought this dish was called Chicken Chaucer. It was only many years later when studying The Pardoner's Tale written by Geoffrey Chaucer that I realised my mistake. Chicken Chasseur or hunter's chicken is a rich chicken dish made with tomatoes, white wine and cognac. This recipe is by no means authentic but I hope it captures some essence of what it is. That should include a rich, slightly tangy and sweet sauce, the tomato fragrance just lingering on the air as an after thought to the wine and cognac and the delicate but savoury chicken falling off the bone through long, slow cooking.
The perfect accompaniment, in my opinion, would be a plate of mashed potatoes, smooth and silky with butter, milk and salt to soak up the sauce. But, being of a low-carb bent right now, I opted for intensely cheesy cauliflower cheese, brightened with spinach, broccolette and some yellow pepper. The sauces from both dishes intermingled on the plate creating little swirls of orange and cream, pretty and surprisingly for me, agreeable. (I usually dislike two liquids mixing on my plate). Recipe at bottom of post
But first, we had some late Winter snow on Saturday. The scene that greeted us on Sunday morning was a blanket of the white stuff 3 inches deep. We captured this photo about 30 miles outside Vancouver. It was a really cold day and the sky was dark grey all day, contrasting nicely with the white snow.
Obviously the snow inspired some artistic but illegal tendencies in some. The view from our bedroom window has been pretty dull recently as we wait for the demolished gas station ground to detoxify. Therefore, we have a large expanse of nothing right in front. It looks nice covered in snow, however and this non-offensive graffiti made us chuckle.
Back to the chicken. A good initial searing to make the skin dark gold and crispy with the satisfying crackling in the pan, should give you more flavour but not the super crispy skin you may desire. (I always do)......
....So, browning it under the grill ensures good crispiness.
I nearly always use chicken legs or thighs these days for the superior flavour. It's funny to think that chicken breasts used to be the only possibility to me when making a curry, stew or casserole. I used to think it really strange that certain Asian communities would throw the breast away. Now I really get it and the only time a chicken breast really shines for me is in an Indian curry from a restaurant where the way they prepare them makes them juicy and tender.
I hesitate to call this 'recycled' cauliflower cheese' for obvious reasons, but that's what it is really. Some left over from the night before got a new lease of life with some extra vegetables and lots more cheese. I suppose it really should just be called leftovers then.
Recipe: Chicken Chasseur (not Chaucer)
2 chicken legs with skin, (You don't need me to tell you that organic and free range are the best).
2 tbsp oil (I used left over goose fat from the duck confit for this - it gave a nice depth to the dish with hints of garlic and herbs).
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped finely
1 stalk celery, chopped finely
1/2 tbsp butter
1 tsp oil
2 bay leaves
1/2 tin whole plum tomatoes
6 mushrooms, quartered
1/2 cup dry white wine or Vermouth
1/4 cup dry sherry or 2 tbsp cognac
1/2 tsp salt
black pepper
2 - 3 dashes Worcestershire sauce
Melt the butter and oil in a heavy saucepan over medium heat and saute the onion, garlic and celery. Add the bay leaves, cover and reduce heat to low. Let sweat gently for about 20 minutes, checking from time to time that they are not burning.
Meanwhile, heat the oil or goose fat until hot over high heat in a frying pan and sear the chicken legs until golden brown on all sides. Remove and drain on kitchen towel.
Add the tomatoes, wine or Vermouth, sherry or cognac, salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce and mushrooms to the onion, celery and garlic and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low - medium and add the chicken legs. Cover and cook for 1 - 1.5 hours.
The sauce now needs to be reduced slightly. If you want a crispy skin on the chicken, remove and place under a pre heated grill to crisp while the sauce reduces, uncovered, on high heat until thickened. If you don't want a crispy skin, leave the chicken in the pan while you reduce the sauce.
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