Recipe: chicken with beaujolais, prunes, shallots and thyme by Claire Thomson

This is the ultimate autumn recipe, said Claire Thomson: it's one to cook in mid-November, when beaujolais nouveau is released. The other ingredients – prunes, thyme, garlic and Dijon – will also flatter and elevate the chicken. Serve it on a pile of buttery mashed potato, with a glass of the same wine in hand. Go old-fashioned and tie your parsley and thyme stalks, wrapped in the bay leaves and secured with some kitchen string, into a bouquet garni.

Ingredients: serves 4

• 1kg whole chicken thighs, legs, drumsticks or breasts
• 50g butter
• 4 large or 12 small shallots, peeled (leave the root on to help them hold together)
• 1 tbsp tomato purée
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 thyme sprigs, plus ½ tsp picked thyme leaves
• ½ bunch flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked and finely chopped and stalks reserved
• 2 bay leaves
• 200ml beaujolais, or another young, fruity red wine
• 16 pitted prunes
• 200ml chicken stock
• 1 tbsp Dijon, plus more to serve
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

• Season the chicken with salt and pepper.
• Melt the butter in a casserole pan over a moderate heat. Add the chicken, and fry for around 5 minutes, turning, until golden brown all over. Add the shallots and continue to cook for another 4-5 minutes, until they too have taken on a bit of colour.
• Turn down the heat and add the tomato purée, garlic, thyme sprigs, parsley stalks and bay leaves and stir gently.
• Then add the wine, stirring well to dislodge any bits of caramelised chicken stuck to the pan. Simmer for a few minutes, then add the prunes and the chicken stock. Cook over a low-moderate heat for around 30-40 minutes, until the chicken is tender and cooked through.
• Remove the chicken from the pan and leave it to rest on a plate, keeping it warm, while you reduce the liquid in the pan over a high heat for a couple of minutes to thicken it slightly. Add the Dijon and whisk to combine.
• Add the chicken back into the sauce in the pan and season well with salt, if needed, and plenty of freshly ground black pepper.
• Remove from the heat and strew with the chopped parsley and picked thyme leaves, and with more mustard on the side.

Recipe from "One Pan Chicken: 70 All-in-One Chicken Recipes For Simple Meals, Every Day" by Claire Thomson, published by Quadrille at £20. Photography by Sam Folan. To buy from The Week Bookshop for £15.99, call 020-3176 3835 or visit theweekbookshop.co.uk. 

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