Chicken Fricassée with bacon crumbs

Trying to find common ground with my children is hard when it comes to food, but to try and find something new, that they all like is even harder! With the prospect of a family lunch I thought an old favourite when I was a child, chicken fricassée. This is taken from James Martin, Home Comforts and I added the bacon crumb but omitted the mushrooms… that wasn’t a battle to have today with the children, serves gloriously buttery and fluffy mash potatoes, and the finest of green beans. Serves 4.

500mls chicken stock

200mls white wine

3 banana shallots, peeled and roughly chopped

thyme, leaves from 3 sprigs

800g chicken fillets

4 egg yolks

150mls double cream

salt and pepper

230g streaky bacon

1 tbsp fresh finely chopped thyme to serve

In a large heavy casserole dish add the stock, wine, onions and thyme and bring to a simmer. Add the chicken and cook for about 15/20 minutes until cooked through.

Remove the pot from the heat and take out the chicken pieces, with a slotted spoon, into a dish and keep warm.

Cook the bacon until crispy, remove from the pan and whizz in a food processor until they resemble crumbs.

Whisk the egg yolks with the double cream in a jug and then gradually add to the casserole dish, whisking all the time to stop the egg form scrambling until thicken slightly, add the chicken back to the sauce, salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with sprinkles of the finely chopped thyme, bacon crumbs and the butteriest of mash potatoes.