Fricassée is a French dish but that doesn’t mean Brazilians can’t have their own version — a much simplified and quicker version, transformed into a complete “one pot” meal. Busy or not, you must try this Brazilian chicken fricassée (fricassé de frango) — which is topped with shoestring potatoes! 😉
The French version basically consists of poultry cut into pieces, gently sautéed in oil or some other type of fat, deglazed with wine, and then stewed in gravy. It is a white stew — without any browning or caramelization. It was said to have been one of Abraham Lincoln‘s favorite dishes.
The Brazilian version is much simpler to prepare, as I mentioned earlier. Boiled chicken is shredded, quickly heated in a blended, creamy mixture of heavy cream, cream cheese, and corn, topped with cheese and shoestring potatoes, and then baked. The result? Both a time-saving and crowd-pleasing dish!
But Brazil isn’t the only country in the world to create a version of the dish. In the Spanish Caribbean, pollo en fricasé (chicken fricassee) incorporates a tomato-based sauce and red wine.
I am not a country, but I also have my own version. 🙂 It is the Brazilian version, of course, but with a couple of modifications based on my family’s taste preferences. First, corn is not blended into the heavy cream/cream cheese mixture; instead whole corn kernels are simply added to the stew in order not to overpower the creamy sauce. Second, shoestring potatoes are added as a topping to the chicken fricassée — but only after it is removed from the oven (to keep the potatoes from getting too browned and soggy). If desired, chopped fresh parsley or cilantro can be sprinkled on top right before serving.
My advice? Try both the traditional Brazilian version and also mine. Even better, giving it your own personal twist could be a real plus. After all, a great dish can always become better.
Enjoy and have a great Spring break (my children are already super-excited!).
P.S: What are your plans?
Chicken Fricassée with Shoestring Potatoes
Ingredients
- 2.2 lbs chicken thighs or 1 kg
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 can whole corn kernel drained, 15.25 oz or 432 g
- 1 package cream cheese softened, 8 oz
- 1/2 to 3/4 sliced green olives
- Salt and ground black pepper to taste
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella or other melting cheese of your choice
- Store-bought shoestring potatoes enough to form a single layer
Instructions
- Preheat to 350 degrees F.
- Boil chicken in either chicken stock or water with salt and ground black pepper until fully cooked. Remove from the liquid, let cool enough to handle, and roughly shred. Place into a medium pot and reserve.
- Blend heavy cream, corn, and cream cheese in a blender until obtaining a thick, creamy, homogeneous mixture. You may need to stop blender more than once and stir. Pour over the chicken, add the sliced olives, salt and pepper to taste, and cook mixture on medium heat, stirring, for 2-4 minutes.
- Place mixture into a medium baking dish, top evenly with the shredded cheese, and bake for about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and top with the shoestring potatoes. Serve by itself, with white rice, or a fresh salad. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
1. My personal preference is to add about 1/2 cup whole corn kernels to the creamy heavy cream/cream cheese sauce instead of blending corn in it -- because I think the blended corn overpowers the creamy sauce.
2. Many add the shoestring potatoes before baking the dish. Instead, I prefer to add them only after removing the dish from the oven -- preventing potatoes from becoming overbrowned and soggy.
Chris Scheuer
March 14, 2016 at 9:17 pmThis looks like a wonderful comfort dish. I bet your girls request this one over and over!
Amber Harding
March 15, 2016 at 2:48 amI simply love this meal! The potatoes are in arguably their most appetizing form!
Raymund
March 15, 2016 at 3:23 pmThis is a nice one pot dish!
Deb|EastofEdenCooking
March 15, 2016 at 5:48 pmThe creamy sauce is divine! What a scrumptious one dish dinner and perfect for prepping ahead for those busy days we all have!
Sugar et al.
March 15, 2016 at 11:45 pmA scrumptious comfort dish that one can never have enough of! Your version is superb! I just love the fingerling poatoes.
Helen Nicole
March 16, 2016 at 3:12 ami love potato. i think everything cook with potato is so great. i will try to cook this food. cooking Brazilian chicken fricassée is not difficult as i think. 😀 thanks for sharing 😀
John/Kitchen Riffs
March 16, 2016 at 10:04 amJust the shoestring potatoes along would be enough to tempt me. But the chicken looks wonderful! And SO flavorful. And I haven’t mentioned the sauce, which looks just super. Great dish — thanks.
Evelyne CulturEatz
March 16, 2016 at 7:46 pmLove your version, especially how much simpler it is to prepare. Yeah the shoestring potatoes are a winner. You know this cut is very French too, called allumette, which means matchstick.
Abbe @ This is How I Cook
March 17, 2016 at 5:46 pmGive me cream and shoestrings any day! My mothermakes the Jewish version. Her favorite part as a child was the chicken feet!
Little Cooking Tips
March 18, 2016 at 5:26 amMouthwatering recipe dear Denise! Did you cook (like fried) the potatoes before adding them on top? How does that work?
The “Fricassee” we make here are 2 types: pork or lamb. Both are stews with lots of greens (like chopped romaine lettuce, Greek celery -called selino, young onions and dill and served with egg-lemon (avgolemono) sauce. So great to see the Brazilian chicken version!
Pinned A S A P !:):):)
Have an amazing weekend dear!
xoxoxo
Denise Browning
March 19, 2016 at 6:14 pmHello, friends! The shoestring potatoes are fried but we use the store-bought ones — which are crisp and delicious, saving us time. good to know there are many versions of this wonderful French dish. Yours sounds amazing! Take care and thanks for stopping by. xoxo
Karen (Back Road Journal)
March 18, 2016 at 4:02 pmThis is a dish that would be popular no matter where you live. I agree with you about adding the potatoes at the end so that they would stay crispy.
Tara
March 18, 2016 at 8:47 pmYum! Love your photo of the parsley!
Yuri
April 11, 2016 at 4:44 pmgreat recipes. everything cook with potato is delicious. i will try to cook this food. cooking is not difficult as i think. ? thanks for sharing ?
Elgita
April 9, 2019 at 2:47 amYes, I am Brasilian too and I know that recipe as well. It is simply the best one combination!!! Thanks for share it!!!
Denise Browning
April 9, 2019 at 10:40 amOi, Elgita! Que bom ver voce aqui. Obrigada pelo comentario. Sim, Fricasse de frango eh muito bom. Meu marido adora — se bem que nao posso fazer com frequencia por causa das batatinhas. kkkkk Espero que voce experimente a nossa receita e goste. Um abraco!