Michael Caines’ chicken fricassee with mushrooms, garlic mash and green beans

Remove the breasts and legs from the chicken (1), using a sharp knife. Put the chicken breast‑side up on a board, pull each leg away from the body and cut through where the leg meets the chicken to remove it, then run the knife down each side of the bone in the middle of the breast and gently cut the meat away from the cage of bones to lift off the breasts. Then, place each leg skin‑side down, find the soft line where the drumstick meets the thigh, and cut straight through this point to separate them – if it resists, move the knife slightly until it cuts easily through the joint.

Leave the breast, drumsticks and thighs to one side. Put the chicken carcass into a large pot, cover with water and add the chicken stock pot (1). Simmer over a medium heat for 30 minutes while you make the fricassee sauce.

Heat a large frying pan or skillet over medium-high heat and add a glug of olive oil. Pat the chicken breasts, drumsticks, and thighs dry, then place the chicken skin-side down in the pan and sear for 5-7 minutes, until golden brown (you may need to do this in batches). Flip and brown the other side. Remove the chicken from the pan and set it aside.

To the same pan, add another glug of oil along with the onions (1), thyme (2 sprigs), garlic (2 cloves) and mushrooms (100 g). Cook for 5-7 minutes, until the onions are soft.

Add the white wine (100 ml) into the pan to deglaze and let it reduce by half. Ladle in 300ml of your chicken broth (freeze the rest to use for soup or risotto) along with the bay leaf (1). Nestle in the chicken and simmer on low heat for 10 minutes, until the chicken is completely cooked through. Pour in the double cream (100 g) and cook for a further 10 minutes.

While the chicken is cooking, bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Add in the potatoes (500 g) and cook for 7-10 minutes, until fork-tender. Drain and then return to the pan and mash until smooth. Whisk in the milk (100 g), double cream (50 g), butter (100 g) and minced garlic (1 clove). Season to taste with plenty of salt and pepper.

Bring another saucepan of water to a boil. Add in the green beans (200 g) and cook for 1-2 minutes, until tender, and then drain.

Once your chicken is cooked through, remove the chicken from the pan and leave to one side. Whisk the Greek yogurt (100 g), Dijon mustard (30 g) and cornflour (1 tbsp) in a bowl. Slowly add a ladle of the hot cream and mushroom sauce into the yogurt mixture to temper it. Pour the mixture back into the pan, stirring constantly. Finally, stir in the lemon juice (1/2) and the tarragon (15 g).

Serve the mash on plates and top with the chicken fricassee and sauce, with the green beans on the side.