A Glug of Oil

Easy and delicious recipes including midweek dinner ideas, English and world cuisine.

Chicken Bouillabaisse Recipe

Chicken and potatoes cooked in a rich sweet garlic and tomato sauce along with saffron, Pernod, white wine, fennel seeds and rosemary. Totally delicious and easy to make too as it's all cooked in one pot.

Chicken Bouillabaisse

Oh yes this is now in my top five dinners of all dinners and has to be made again soon. After seeing Ina Garten cook this the other night the Food Network TV show 'Back to Basics', it had to made there and then.

I believe this is usually made with fish and served with rouille (garlicky mayonnaise). Because of my rush to make it I didn't have enough garlic to make the roullie so just served it with nice crusty bread.
According to Wikipedia, Bouillabaisse is a traditional Provençal fish stew originating from the port city of Marseille.

Top Tip!
Since the chicken had been well seasoned with salt when frying it at the beginning I only added a tiny bit of salt - just remember as the sauce cooks down it will taste more salty so taste as you go and add salt towards the end of cooking.

Top Tip #2
I've no idea as to whether a Yukon Gold potato cooks quicker than a Maris Piper but I knew the potatoes would NOT be cooked in the time stated, so I put the quartered potatoes in a glass bowl, covered with cling film and microwaved them on high for 3 to 4 minutes to give them a head start.  This turned out a good thing or they wouldn't have cooked through.
I've adjusted the original recipe for the UK.
  


Yield: 4

Chicken Bouillabaisse

Since the chicken had been well seasoned with salt when frying it at the beginning I only added a tiny bit of salt - just remember as the sauce cooks down it will taste more salty so taste as you go and add salt towards the end of cooking.

I've no idea as to whether a Yukon Gold potato cooks quicker than a Maris Piper but I knew the potatoes would NOT be cooked in the time stated, so I put the quartered potatoes in a glass bowl, covered with cling film and microwaved them on high for 3 to 4 minutes to give them a head start. This turned out a good thing or they wouldn't have cooked through. I've adjusted the original recipe for the UK.

ingredients:

1 large chicken, cut into portions or just buy chicken portions with skin on
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
Olive oil
1 large bulb garlic - separated into cloves and peeled and left whole
1 teaspoon saffron threads
1 teaspoon whole fennel seeds
500g sieved tomatoes (passata)
375ml good chicken stock - homemade if you have it or made from a Chicken Knorr Stock Pot
250ml dry white wine
3 tablespoons Pernod
Yukon gold or Maris Piper potatoes - halved or quartered depending on their size

instructions

Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and season it generously with salt, pepper, and the rosemary.

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat in a large Dutch oven (or cast iron casserole) and brown the chicken pieces in batches until nicely browned all over, about 5 to 7 minutes per batch. Transfer the browned chicken pieces to a plate and set aside.

Lower the heat to medium-low and add the garlic, saffron, fennel seeds, tomato puree, chicken stock, white wine, Pernod, 2 teaspoons salt *see my note about the salt before adding, and 1 teaspoon of pepper to the pot.

Stir and scrape up any browned bits on the bottom, and simmer for 30 to 40 minutes, until the garlic is very tender, stirring occasionally.

Preheat your oven to 200C/400F of Gas 6

Carefully pour the sauce into the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade.  Puree until smooth.  Return the sauce to the casserole and add the sliced potatoes and browned chicken pieces with their juices. Stir carefully.

Cover the pot and bake for 45 to 55 minutes, until the potatoes are tender and the chicken is done.  Check the seasonings and serve hot with some nice crusty bread.
Created using The Recipes Generator

5 comments

  1. Hi Jan - do you think it wouls be as good if I left out the Pernod?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Anon - I'd say you really need it but perhaps you could add a little fresh fennel bulb (sliced) as it has same sort of taste. If not you could try Ouzo the Greek drink as I think it's a lot cheaper than Pernod...hope this helps x

    ReplyDelete
  3. Yum....this looks delicious! What is Pernod?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi Sandi - Pernod is an alcoholic type of liqueur similar in taste to the Greek drink Ouzo x

    ReplyDelete
  5. That looks lovely, Jan! I'll need to remember the potato microwaving tip. I hate it when the totties aren't cooked through!

    ReplyDelete

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Cheers
Jan