I have been trying to find someone who could produce a classic Chicken Forestière for the last 5 years, in fact ever since I last bought the dish from a producer (sadly neither he nor his firm are any longer with us) in the Perigord. At last, success, Daniel Mazerolles from the picture perfect village of Bosdarros, in the foothills of the Pyrenees, and his wonderful family have created this dish especially for us and the results are every bit as good as I had hoped. Forestière is a method of preparing chicken garnished with mushrooms cooked in butter. The chickens are all totally free range, which guarantees you the finest flavour. The thighs and fillets are firstly seared individually in butter before being cooked along with hand-picked white mushrooms in a crème fraiche and white wine sauce to produce a wonderfully light and tasty meal. At this time of the year there can be nothing better to accompany the meal than buttered new potatoes along with crunchy green beans. I think the wait has been worthwhile.

Poule Sauce Forestière - Serves 3 (750g).