Chicken and Olive Ragout With Dijon Potatoes

In a large pan or deep skillet, cook bacon over medium-high heat until crisp.

Remove bacon and drain on paper towel, set aside.

Drain most of fat from pan leaving 1 tablespoon, reserve excess fat.

Add chicken to pan and brown on all sides, do not crowd the pan, transfer browned pieces to a bowl.Use more of reserved fat as necessary to brown all chicken. Set chicken aside.Reduce heat to medium-low and add remaining fat and/or butter.

Add carrots, shallots, garlic, thyme(I prefer fresh thyme) pepper and salt.

Saute for approximately 10 minutes or less if you prefer carrots a little crunchy.

Sprinkle flour over vegetable mixture and cook stirring for 2 minutes.Gradually add wine and chicken stock, stirring gently to scrape the browned bits off the bottom of the pan.Bring to boil, stirring often for 5 minutes, until sauce thickens.Return chicken with any juices in the bowl to the pan, reduce heat and simmer gently for about 10 minutes.

Add red pepper, olives and mustard.Simmer another 10 minutes or until chicken is cooked thoroughly and sauce is thickened.Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary.Crumble reserved bacon into the mixture and serve over the Dijon Mashed potatoes.Note: the flavours of this ragout benefit from being made a day ahead and refrigerating over night. I do not add the bacon until just before serving, so pieces will remain crunchy. This dish freezes well. Prepare the complete recipe, spoon potatoes around the edge of a large 12-16 cup casserole, spoon chicken mixture in the centre, cover with plastic wrap and wrap entire dish in foil. Freeze up to 2 months. Thaw in refrigerator for 48 hours and bake 350 degrees for about 1 1/2hours, until chicken and potatoes are hot and bubbly.To prepare potatoes:.Peel and cut into chunks, put into large pot, cover with water add salt and bring to a boil, simmer until tender, 20 minutes.

Drain and return to low heat, shaking pot to dry potatoes for 1 minute.

Remove from heat, mash and gradually mix in cream and mustard.Season with salt and pepper to taste.