This recipe was a request from my cousin Marie, who has eaten this dish either at my house or my Mum's house in London. I'm afraid that it shouldn't really be called a "Fricasee", because a true fricasee is a chicken stew cooked in a white gravy (cream/wine based). My mum's version is a kind of cacciatore - thick tomato and garlic sauce, with peas added for color and texture.
For this recipe, I bought a whole chicken and cut it up - this is a technique every cook should know how to do. Here is a link which shows a step by step lesson on "How to cut up a whole chicken". If you don't want to bother, then I would suggest a pack of chicken thighs - meat on the bone tends to a give a stew much more flavor. The other thing I do is to remove all the skin, this will cut the calories and all that fat floating on the top of the stew. Other than that, it's a really simple dish, go ahead and turn it into a cacciatore by adding a sliced bell pepper (red or green), mushrooms and a splash of wine.
Chicken "Fricasee"
(Serves 4 - 6)
Ingredients:
1 - 3 pound chicken, cut up and skin removed
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, peeled and diced
2 garlic cloves, minced or grated
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon flour
1 (32 oz) canned tomatoes - sauce, crushed or diced
1 teaspoon dried mixed herbs
1 cup chicken broth
2 cups frozen peas
salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
- Season chicken pieces with salt and pepper.
- In a large saute pan with lid, heat the olive oil over high heat and add the chicken pieces.
- Cook the chicken on the first side until golden brown. Turn over and brown the other side. Remove chicken to a platter.
- Add the onions and garlic to the pan. Cook for 2- 3 minutes or until lightly browned.
- Add the tomato paste and flour and stir together to cook out the raw flavors.
- Stir in the canned tomatoes, chicken broth and herbs (use fresh if you have them).
- Carefully add the chicken to the sauce, cover with lid and lower heat to medium low.
- Cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally to avoid sticking.
- Finally stir in the frozen peas and cook for a further 10 minutes. Season to taste.
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