A traditional French recipe for chicken fricasee. With a creamy white mushroom sauce – perfect for mopping up with a hunk of cripsy bread! It’s thought that the term fricasee comes from French frire – to fry, and casser – to break into pieces. Which is what you do with the chicken in this recipe! Brown the chicken and then cook in the sauce. It’s a simple recipe and very delicious!

How to make chicken fricasse for 4

2 carrots, cut into small chunks
2 leeks, cut into small chunks
1 large onion, halved (or 2 medium onions halved)
1 garlic clove halved – optional (you can remove from the sauce at the end but I think it adds a certain je ne sais quoi!)
Handful of mushrooms
4 chicken drumsticks
4 chicken thighs
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt

For the sauce

80g unsalted butter
60g plain flour
200ml white wine
200ml double cream
1 bay leaf
1 lemon, juiced
Small handful curly parsley, finely chopped, or a couple of spring of thyme

Method

Melt a knob of butter in a frying pan.  Season the chicken pieces with the salt and pepper and fry until lightly golden on both sides – leave the skin on.  Remove from the pan and leave to the side.

Saute the mushrooms, leek, garlic and onion.

Add the flour, stirring constantly to blend it in.

Add the wine and chicken stock and stir all the flour in.

Add the chicken – skin side up, bring to a gently simmer, cover with a lid and leave for 10 minutes.

Uncover and leave for a further 20 minutes.

Plate up the chicken pieces only. Pour the cream into the pan and stir until it’s simmering.

Pour the sauce over the chicken and add the herbs. It’s good served with rice, mashed potatoes or bread – the sauce is king here…

Dig in!

Want more great French chicken recipes?

Chicken á la crème

Poulet Gaston Gerard

Chicken with 40 cloves of garlic (not a typo – yes 40 cloves of garlic)!

Chicken with walnut and prune stuffing

Want more France?

Discover more fabulous destinations in France with our free magazine The Good Life France

Love France? Have a listen to our podcast – everything you want to know about France and more!

All rights reserved. This article may not be published, broadcast, rewritten (including translated) or redistributed without written permission.

The post Simple recipe for French Chicken fricasee appeared first on The Good Life France.

A classic French dish from Burgundy that’s simple and fast to make. But don’t let that ease of making it fool you into thinking it’s going to be anything other that utterly delicious! It’s very rich, surprisingly elegant though it’s origins are as a rustic, comforting country dish.

Chicken a la creme for 6 people

6 chicken breasts
One white onion
10 mushrooms
100g (40z) butter
1 litre (2.1 pints) crème fraiche
2 peeled garlic cloves
2 cups (240g/8 oz) of plain flour
200ml (6.5 fl oz) dry white wine
200ml (6.5 fl oz) chicken stock
200g (7 fl oz) thick cream
Salt/pepper

How to make chicken a la creme

Peel and cut the onions into quarters. Remove the stalks from the mushrooms, rinse under cold water and cut each one into 4 pieces. Crush the garlic cloves with the flat blade of a knife

In a hot pan add the butter and the chicken breasts (skin side down if you are keeping the skin). Season with salt and pepper. Cook each side for 7-8 minutes until golden brown. Remove the chicken. In the same pan add the mushrooms, onions and garlic, then add the flour and the dry white wine and stir together. Put the chicken back in the pan. Cook for around 5 minutes to let the wine reduce and the flour mix to become sticky

Add the chicken stock, and heavy cream. Let this start to thicken for 3-4 minutes and add the crème fraiche.

Continue cooking over a medium heat for 15-20 minutes until the sauce has thickened and the chicken is cooked through.

In France it’s typical to serve it with rice or roasted vegetables, or just with crusty French bread to mop up the delicious sauce!

More chicken dishes from France

Classic coq au vin

Poulet Gaston Gerard

Chicken with 40 cloves of garlic

Spring chicken with walnut and prune stuffing

The post Easy recipe for Chicken a la crème | Chicken in cream sauce appeared first on The Good Life France.

Rich, robust and rustic, this beef Bourguignon recipe needs little time to prepare though it does need to be left to develop in the oven for a few hours to give it that deep and delicious depth of taste and fill the air with utterly mouth-watering aromas.

JACQUES’S BEEF BOURGUIGNON

 Serves 6–8

ACTIVE TIME: 25 minutes

COOKING TIME: About 3½ hours

INGREDIENTS

4–5 tbsp vegetable oil
3 lb. (1.5 kg) stewing beef, cut into 2-in. (5-cm) cubes
10½ oz. (300 g) smoked bacon, cut into lardons
1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 bottle red wine (Chianti or Bordeaux)
3 tbsp tomato paste
2 cups (500 ml) beef stock
2 bay leaves
4 sprigs fresh thyme
1½ tbsp unsalted butter, divided
14 oz. (400 g) pearl onions, peeled (and halved, if large)
14 oz. (400 g) assorted mushrooms (button, girolle, chanterelle, etc.)
3 carrots, peeled and sliced thinly crosswise
2 tbsp all-purpose flour (optional)
Salt and freshly ground pepper

METHOD

Heat half the oil in a large Dutch oven (lidded cooking pot) and sear the beef cubes in batches over high heat, removing them as they brown and adding more oil as necessary. When all the meat has browned, place it all back in the pot. Add the bacon and onion, and cook for 3–4 minutes over medium heat. Stir in the garlic, wine, tomato paste, beef stock, bay leaves, and thyme and bring to a simmer, scraping the bottom of the pot to incorporate any meat juices sticking to it. Cover and let simmer for 15 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C/Gas Mark 2). Place the covered pot in the oven and cook for 2½ hours.

Meanwhile, melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large skillet, add the pearl onions, and sauté over medium heat until browned. In a separate skillet, melt the remaining butter, add the mushrooms, and sauté over medium heat until browned. Set aside.

Remove the pot from the oven and add the sliced carrots, pearl onions, and mushrooms. Let simmer, partially covered, for 30 minutes, until the beef and vegetables are tender. Taste and adjust the seasoning, if necessary.

If you wish to thicken the sauce, place the flour in a bowl and whisk in about 1 tablespoon cold water using a fork until smooth. Gradually whisk in 3 tablespoons of the sauce from the pot, then pour this mixture into the pot and stir until the sauce slowly thickens.

KITCHEN NOTES: I like to serve this beef Bourguignon with boiled potatoes.

Extracted from My Art of Entertaining: Recipes and Tips from Miss Maggie’s Kitchen by Héloïse Brion (Flammarion, 2022).

Photography © Christophe Roué 2022.

The post Easy beef Bourguignon recipe appeared first on The Good Life France.

Whenever you go to a French market, there’s usually a street food stall selling spit roasted chickens, little roasted potatoes and, if you’re lucky, braised ham. It’s a firm favourite with the French and it’s super easy to prepare at home with this scrumptious recipe.

Serves 4

Active time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 3 hours 20 minutes
Storage: 4 days in the refrigerator

EQUIPMENT

Thin-bladed knife

INGREDIENTS

Braised ham

6½-lb. (3-kg) ham, preferably milk-fed
Coarse grey sea salt, as needed
Freshly ground pepper
Olive oil

Glaze

Scant ½ cup (5 oz./150 g) acacia honey
3 tbsp (1¾ oz./50 g) butter
2 tsp (10 ml) soy sauce

METHOD

Preparing the braised ham

Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C/Gas Mark 6). Using the thin-bladed knife, score the ham skin in a criss-cross pattern, then pierce all over. Rub the outside with coarse grey sea salt, pressing it into the scored pattern. Season with pepper and place in a baking dish. Drizzle with a little olive oil and bake for 40 minutes, then cover with aluminium foil and continue to bake for 1 hour. Lower the oven temperature to 290°F (145°C/Gas Mark 1) and bake for an additional 1 hour.

Glazing the ham

Warm the honey, butter, and soy sauce in a saucepan until liquefied. Remove the ham from the oven and increase the oven temperature to 350°F (180°C/Gas Mark 4). When the oven reaches this temperature, brush the glaze over the ham and bake for 12 minutes. Repeat this process twice more until the ham is glossy and golden brown, and the meat comes away easily from the bone.

Extracted from Charcuterie: Pâtés, Terrines, Savory Pies – Recipes and Techniques From the Ferrandi School of Culinary Arts by Ferrandi Paris (Flammarion, 2023)
Photography credit © Rina Nurra

The post Braised ham recipe | Jambon braisé appeared first on The Good Life France.

Three simple ingredients make up this rather impressive wreath. It’s an easy recipe but it packs plenty of wow factor and is perfect as a meal as well as party food.

Serves 6
ACTIVE TIME: 45 minutes
COOLING TIME: 20-25 minutes
COOKING TIME: 1¼ hours

INGREDIENTS

1 lb. (500 g) assorted mushrooms
Extra-virgin olive oil
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
7 oz. (200 g) baby spinach, chopped
1 tsp cumin seeds
7 oz. (200 g) fresh goat cheese, crumbled
Finely grated zest of 2 lemons, preferably organic
Scant 1 cup (4½ oz./125 g) pine nuts
1 small handful dried cranberries (optional)
2 sheets puff pastry, measuring about 8 × 12 in. (20 × 30 cm), preferably all-butter
3½ tbsp (50 ml) whole milk
Salt and freshly ground pepper

METHOD

Clean and thinly slice the mushrooms. Heat a little olive oil in a skillet, add the onion, garlic, and a pinch of salt, and cook over medium heat until softened. Add the mushrooms and cook until golden.

Stir in the spinach and cumin seeds, followed by the goat cheese, lemon zest, pine nuts, and dried cranberries, if using. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat and let cool for 15–20 minutes.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut one puff pastry sheet in half lengthwise. Place the halves side by side on the baking sheet and cover each one with half the mushroom mixture, leaving a 1½-in. (4-cm) border at each end and a 1¼-in. (3-cm) border along each side.

Fold the long sides over the filling to form logs, pressing the pastry edges together to seal. Close the ends, then turn the logs over so the seams are underneath. Very carefully shape the two logs into a wreath. Relax, the difficult part is done!

Cut out leaves or flowers from the second pastry sheet. Brush them with a little water and press them gently onto the wreath. This also allows you to hide the joins where the two logs meet.

Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C/Gas Mark 5). Whisk the milk with 1 tbsp olive oil and brush all over the wreath. Bake for 35–40 minutes, until the pastry is puffed and golden brown. Let the wreath cool for several minutes on the baking sheet, then carefully slide it onto a large serving plate.

Extracted from My Art of Entertaining: Recipes and Tips from Miss Maggie’s Kitchen by Héloïse Brion (Flammarion, 2022). Photography © Christophe Roué 2022.

The post Mushroom, spinach and goat cheese wreath appeared first on The Good Life France.

This simple pan-fried potato dish has a surprising amount of wow factor and is very delicious. It’s a dish that’s been popular in Lyon since the early 1800s and it’s the addition of chopped onions that makes it Lyonnaise and not just sautéed potatoes! It goes well with just about everything from chicken to meat and fish and even salad.

Sautéed potatoes recipe for 4 people

1kg potatoes
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 onions, chopped finely
3 cloves garlic (minced)
Small bunch of parsley (optional)

Either steam or boil the potatoes until soft, but firm enough to cut.

Drain and cut into slices.

Brown the chopped onions and garlic in half the olive oil, remove.

Put the potatoe slices in the same pan with the rest of the oil and heat until golden brown, turning to brown both sides.

Add the onions and garlic and stir.

Serve straight away sprinkled with the finely chopped parsley if you’re using it.

The post Pommes de terre Lyonnaise | Sautéed potatoes recipe appeared first on The Good Life France.

This is one of the best summer vegetable and cheese recipes ever! Easy to make and absolutely scrumptious…

3 aubergines (Japanese eggplants)
3 ripe tomatoes
3 medium courgettes
1/2 cup olive oil
Juice of a lemon plus its grated peel
A few fresh thyme leaves
200g feta or goat cheese

Slice the aubergines, ripe tomatoes and courgettes in very thin slices and put in a bowl with the olive oil, lemon juice and thyme. Toss, toss, toss until everything is a mess.

In a casserole make a layer of the vegetables.

Dot with half the cheese

Make another layer and do the same.

Sprinkle with breadcrumbs  and drip a bit of olive oil over the top.

Bake at high temp (185-200 depending on oven) for 40 minutes or until caramelized.

Delicious with a wedge of French bread or served over pasta.

Suzanne Dunnaway is the author of No Need To Knead, Handmade Italian Breads in 90 Minutes (Hyperion); Rome, At Home, The Spirit of la cucina romana in Your Own Kitchen (Broadway Books); No Need to Knead (Metric/American version-Grub Street Publishers, London).

More easy cheesy recipes

Gougères – cheesy balloons of deliciousness

Reblochon pie – just minutes to make and totally delectable…

Tear and share Camembert baked in bread

The post Summer vegetable and goats cheese bake recipe appeared first on The Good Life France.

Anything cooked Dauphinoise style simply means it includes potatoes and is baked in milk, cream and/or cheese. The name comes from the Dauphiné area of the southeast of France, near the Italian border. Called Morue à la Dauphinoise in French, it’s a quite simple recipe but this salted cod dish is delicious!

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds (200g)salted cod, desalinated 24 hours in cold water
1/2 cup flour (70g) mixed with a little sweet paprika and a little fresh ground pepper
1/4 cup (60 ml) extra virgin olive oil
2 large sweet onions, sliced thin
2 cloves garlic, chopped fine
2 potatoes, peeled and sliced into ¼-inch rounds (or any way you like to slice potatoes)
1 generous cup whole milk (after desalination, the drained cod may sit in this milk to await its fate)
1/4 (60 ml) cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons butter
Squeeze of lemon
1/2 cup (70g ) toasted bread crumbs
Dash of nutmeg (optional)

Method

Soak the salt cod in cold water in a container in the refrigerator, changing the water daily for two days.

This will depend on the cod. Some are saltier than others. The smaller part of the cod will de-salt sooner than the larger section, so you may remove it from the water ahead of the rest of the fish. Keep refrigerated until use.

Drain the fish and cut into serving pieces.

Heat the oven to 375 F or 195 C.

Toss the cod pieces with the flour, pepper and paprika.

In a medium skillet, heat the olive oil and sauté the onions and garlic until golden. Place these in a well-oiled shallow casserole.

Sauté the potatoes for a few minutes just until barely soft and add to the dish.

Take the fish from the flour mixture and place it on top of the onions and garlic.

Add the milk and cream to the casserole and dot with butter. Squeeze a few drops of lemon over the top.

Sprinkle the crumbs over the mixture

Bake for 35 minutes, then turn off the oven and the morue will hold for another 15 minutes.

Serve with fresh, stewed tomatoes and toasted baguette slices.

The leftovers may be whizzed up with fish or chicken broth into a mouth-watering soup. Add a spoon of Greek yogurt at the finish and a squeeze of lemon to keep the acids balanced.

Suzanne Dunnaway is the author of No Need To Knead, Handmade Italian Breads in 90 Minutes (Hyperion); Rome, At Home, The Spirit of la cucina romana in Your Own Kitchen (Broadway Books); No Need to Knead (Metric/American version-Grub Street Publishers, London).

The post Simple recipe for Cod Dauphinoise appeared first on The Good Life France.

Yes – you read that right. 40 cloves of garlic. Apparently it was popular in the old days when cooking an old chicken. The great American cook Julia Childs liked to cook three heads of garlic whole leaving a buttery and sweet taste and “still kissable”.

When cooked, squeeze the soft flesh of the garlic and spread it on bread, big hunks of baguette, to enjoy with the chicken and the juices…

There are loads of different versions for this recipe, add cream, or cognac, some use pieces of chicken. This recipe is an easy to make version using a whole chicken. And it’s utterly scrumptious.

Serves 4

40 cloves of garlic
1 chicken
2 tablespoons olive oil
250 ml dry white wine (1 cup)
One onion
One carrot
2 stalks celery (leaves can be left on)
2 sprigs or teaspoon rosemary
4 sprigs or teaspoon thyme
Tablespoon chopped parsley (optional)

Method

Preheat oven to 400°F/200°C (Gas Mark 6).

Peel the garlic.

Pop half of the chopped celery, rosemary, thyme, parsley and 6 cloves of garlic inside the chicken.

Slaver the chicken with oil and season well. Scatter the rest of the garlic in the base of a cooking dish with the rest of the celery, rosemary and thyme, plus roughly chopped carrot and onion.

Place the chicken in the dish, add the wine to the dish. Cover and bake for about 1hr 20 minutes. The juices should run clear when you pierce the leg with a skewer.

Lift the chicken out and leave to one side. Strain the juices into a pan and boil for a couple of minutes to thicken it.

Serve the chicken with some of the garlic pieces and the juices. Spread the garlic over bread, or toasted bread. You can also add the garlic to soups and stir fries for a burst of flavour. You can keep it in a small, sealed container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

More French finger-lickingly good chicken recipes

Classic coq au vin

Poulet Gaston Gerard – a Burgundian classic

Poulet roti – it’s a must! 

Spring chicken with walnut and prune stuffing

The post Chicken with 40 cloves of garlic appeared first on The Good Life France.

Rabbit, especially wild rabbit, is a flavourful and nutritious meat option, and as rabbits breed like, well, rabbits, it’s also a sustainable meat choice for carnivores. The flavour is deep and gamey, and this can be a little off-putting to some. But, with this recipe as your introduction, you’ll soon see why it’s been popular for hundreds of years.

Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook Time: 75 mins
Total Time: 1h30 mins

Portions: 4

Ingredients:
1 x 1+kg/3 to 3.5lb Rabbit, jointed into 6-8 pieces, at room temperature
65g/2Tbsp Plain flour
65ml/2Tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
60gr/2Tbsp butter
4 large shallots, sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup chicken stock
200 gr/7 oz pitted d’Agen prunes
Several sprigs fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
Salt and pepper for seasoning

Method:

On a plate, or in a plastic bag, add the flour and some salt and pepper, shake thoroughly to combine. Once mixed, add the rabbit pieces, and shake again to thoroughly coat all the surface area of the rabbit.

In a medium-sized Dutch oven, and over medium heat, warm the oil and when hot, add in the butter. Continue to heat until the butter begins to froth. When bubbling, carefully lower the rabbit pieces into the oil and butter, and cook on each side until golden in colour, about 7-10-minutes.

You may need to do this in batches, as it’s better not to crowd the pan or the rabbit will sweat, not fry.

Once all the rabbit pieces are cooked off, remove them to a plate, and cover to keep warm.

Reheat the pan to a medium-high heat, add in the garlic and shallots, and cook until the shallots become translucent – but not browned!

Once sweated through, heat for a few minutes until HOT, then add in the wine, and allow it to reduce down while you stir to dislodge any stuck on bits – the nice brown bits that make a sauce packed with flavour.

Reduce the wine to around half its original volume, then add the stock and bring to the boil. When boiling, arrange the rabbit pieces in the liquid, preferably in a single layer or slightly jumbled up, and add in the prunes and herbs, as well as a little salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Pop the lid on, and simmer over a low heat, a small burner on low is ideal, for around 45-minutes, or until the rabbit is tender. A good way to identify this is when the leg bones stick out and have no meat on the ends, and the bone threatens to fall out.

To serve, check that the rabbit is tender, carefully remove the rabbit pieces from the pan, use a slotted spoon if you have one, and cover to keep warm.

Arrange the rabbit over mashed potatoes, polenta or semolina, or steamed rice, scatter the prunes on top, and carefully ladle the sauce over the whole lot, then garnish with a nice sprig of parsley. A side of green peas go down a treat too.

If your sauce is a bit thin, you can boil, or ‘reduce’, it down until it’s thicker, or use cornflour/cornstarch to thicken. For an extra luxurious finish, you can also whisk in a dollop of creme fraiche, just be sure to lift the prunes out first!

Kit Smyth is a retired chef with a passion for French cuisine. Originally from Australia, Kit is dedicated to exploring both old and new ingredients, techniques and styles, and developing recipes for home cooks, she also teaches these recipes online and in-person. Find out more at her website: TheBiteLine

The post Lapin Aux Pruneaux | Rabbit with prunes recipe appeared first on The Good Life France.