Chicken ragout

It’s a French-style dish of chicken cooked gently in a savoury sauce, often with onion, carrots and herbs. In British cooking, it’s close to a chicken stew; the names can overlap.

Use boneless chicken thighs for a longer simmer: they stay tender better than breast. Brown the pieces first, then cook them gently in the sauce rather than letting it boil hard.

Mashed potato, rice or crusty bread all work well for soaking up the sauce. Buttered new potatoes are another good choice, especially with carrots, peas or green beans alongside.

Yes. Cut it into even chunks and add it later in the cooking, as breast dries out more readily than thigh. Check the thickest piece is cooked through to 75°C.

Cool it and put it in the fridge within one to two hours, then eat it within two days, following Food Standards Agency guidance. Reheat it until steaming hot throughout.

Yes. Cool it promptly, freeze it in meal-sized portions, then defrost it in the fridge and reheat until steaming hot throughout. Reheat only once.

Chicken ragout has 75 kcal per 100 g, compared with 118 kcal per 100 g for chicken stew.