A fricassee is somewhere between a sauté and a stew, and more importantly is another French home-cooked meal from my cookbook, “Season to Taste,” that should be in your kitchen rotation.
It’s simple, yet cozy and delicious enough to make you feel like you have accomplished something of note. It’s a hearty dish that I enjoy eating after a long day doing something physical. Maybe I went hiking, maybe I schlepped around soccer fields all day, or maybe I just
got a lot done on my to-do list — and it’s time to treat myself with a really good meal.
A 12-inch pan is as small as you want to go for this dish. It can also be made in a Dutch oven, but you might need to brown the chicken in batches. As for the mushrooms, any small variety will work, such as chestnut, button, baby bella or cremini. If you hate mushrooms, leave them out. And if you don’t have fresh bay leaves, use dried — but don’t tie them up in the bouquet garni or they’ll crumble. Just toss them in loose and retrieve them at the end. There are many variations to this dish, limited only by your imagination and your pantry, but this is my favorite.
Serves 4
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1½ teaspoons flaky sea salt, divided
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 large bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
2 medium celery stalks, diced
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 bouquet garni consisting of 6 fresh thyme sprigs and
2 fresh bay leaves tied together with kitchen twine
4 garlic cloves, minced
½ cup dry white wine
1 cup bone broth
2 cups chopped mushrooms
1⁄3 cup plus 1 tablespoon heavy cream, divided
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
Finely chopped fresh parsley, to finish
Season the flour with ½ teaspoon of the salt and the pepper. Coat the chicken thighs in the seasoned flour.
Melt the butter in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the chicken thighs, skin side down, and cook until the skin gets a nice golden crust, 5 to 7 minutes. Flip the chicken and cook for 3 minutes on the other side. Transfer the chicken to a plate.
Add the carrots, celery, onion, and remaining 1 teaspoon salt to the fat remaining in the pot and give it a good mix to coat the vegetables. Add the bouquet garni, cover, turn the heat down to medium-low, and cook for 15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. Do not rush this step. This is where all the flavor comes from.
Add the garlic and cook, scraping up the fond on the bottom of the pot, until the garlic is fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the wine and let cook until it is reduced by half, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the broth, mushrooms and 1⁄3 cup of the cream, then return the chicken to the pan. Simmer, uncovered, until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 175°F (80°C), about 25 minutes. Discard the bouquet garni (and dried bay leaf, if used) and transfer the chicken to a serving platter.
At this point, the sauce should be reduced to a consistency that will coat the back of a spoon. Stir in the vinegar and remaining 1 tablespoon cream. Pour the sauce over the chicken and finish with the parsley.
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Corre Larkin is known as @CocoLarkinCooks on Instagram and TikTok, where she shares the recipes of her life. After selling a small business, she leaned in to her passions of food and collecting vintage kitchen and home goods, and started posting cooking videos online. She now has popular food and drink Substack newsletters. She lives in Newport Beach, California, with her husband, Matt, and their two children.
Excerpted from “Season to Taste” by Corre Larkin. Copyright (copyright) 2026 by Corre Larkin. Used with permission of Voracious, an imprint of Little, Brown and Company. New York, NY. All rights reserved.
