Chicken fricassée/ À la king/ À la forestière
This is retro cooking customising a basic chicken fricassée to create the 70s imitation-French sauced chicken dish of your choice. It’s also a great way to use up a leftover roast chicken – provided there’s enough meat left on it. But for this posh version, to feed six, you could start from scratch with a whole roast chicken.. If you want to do chicken à la king (with green peppers and, if you want, mushrooms) or forestière (with just the mushrooms), cook the sliced vegetables first by sautéeing them in a little butter for a few minutes until tender (and, in the case of the mushrooms, starting to colour a little), then set aside.
- Meat from one whole roast chicken, cut into thick strips
- 50g butter (plus extra for sweating mushrooms or peppers)
- 30g flour
- 500ml hot, strong chicken stock (made from the chicken carcass)
- ½ tsp sweet paprika, plus extra to garnish
- 1 tsp English mustard
- A small glass of white wine
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- A dash of cream
Optional extras:
For chicken à la forestière
- 200g button mushrooms, sliced
For chicken à la king
- 2 large green peppers, sliced and pitted (seeds removed)
Sauce first:
- Melt the butter in a large saucepan over a medium heat.
- Add the flour and mix to make a smooth roux.
- Gradually add the hot stock, whisking well to create a thick, smooth sauce.
- Add the paprika, mustard and wine, and bring up to a gentle simmer for just a minute or two.
- Season to taste, adding more paprika or mustard if necessary.
And finish:
- Stir in the cold chicken and let the whole thing simmer away for another minute or two, until the chicken is thoroughly heated through.
- Now stir in the cooked mushrooms or peppers, if you’re using them
- Stir in the cream, and heat through for a minute or two more.
Serve piping hot, with plain white rice, a light dusting of paprika over the top and a sprig of parsley on the side.