Chicken and wild mushrooms braised in white wine

I normally start giving some thought as to what I'm going to write for you lovelies somewhere on my way to work in the morning. This morning was different though, and as I stood admiring myself naked in a full-length mirror, I knew what I was going to write even before I had time to exfoliate. You see...it was raining. And I have just the thing for a rainy day. Look, it's not the prettiest dish you'll find here but in terms of taste it's hard to beat. And perfect - absolutely bloody perfect - for a cold night when you just feel like no-hassle cooking. 

Stuff you'll need to feed 4:

• About 800g of organic, free-range chicken pieces (I use skinless. Try and get the thigh meat, otherwise get chicken on the bone.)
• A handful of cherry tomatoes
• A cup of white wine
• A cup of water
• An onion, finely sliced
• A handful of mixed wild mushrooms
• 2 Tablespoons of fresh thyme
• 2 Tablespoons of fresh rosemary, roughly chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, finely sliced

Okay, what to do:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 160 degrees celsius. 

2. In an oven-proof pan or casserole dish gently fry the onions, mushrooms and garlic in a little olive oil. You want the onions to soften but not colour and you don't want to burn the garlic so make sure the heat is not too high. 

3. After about 2 minutes add the chicken pieces and the herbs and fry for about 1 minute. Add the water and the wine and increase the heat. Bring to a boil and reduce back to a simmer. 

4. Add the tomatoes, season well with black pepper and sea salt and cover the pan/dish with a lid or damp wax paper. Place in the oven and cook untouched for about an hour and fifteen minutes (maybe an hour and a half, depending on your oven). 

5. Remove the pan/dish from the oven and cook gently on the stovetop to reduce the sauce to your desired consistency. You can have it as thick as you want, depending on what you are serving it with (quinoa, couscous, brown rice and lentils are good options). 

So...that's it. There's an expression that says if something is too good to be true it probably is. Not here though. Here it really is that easy. And healthy. And f-ing delicious. Enjoy it. 

Cheers,

Jamie Who