Hunter-Style Chicken with Tomatoes and Mushrooms

Pat the meat dry with a kitchen towel and season with 4 g salt. Keep the thighs in large pieces; halve only very large ones. Quarter the cleaned mushrooms, finely dice the onion, and finely chop the garlic. Have ready a wide, heavy casserole or deep skillet about 28–30 cm in diameter, with a lid.

Heat the pan over medium-high heat and add the 20 ml olive oil allocated to the chicken. Brown the meat in two batches for about 2–3 minutes per side, until the surface is browned. Leave space between the pieces rather than packing them tightly. Transfer each batch to a plate and keep any juices that collect there; the meat will finish cooking in the sauce later. Leave the fat and browned bits in the pan, but lower the heat if they start to burn.

Add the remaining 20 ml olive oil to the same pan in two equal portions, one for each batch of mushrooms. Cook the mushrooms in two batches over medium-high heat for about 5–7 minutes each. Let them cook briefly without stirring at first, then turn them; their released water should evaporate and the surfaces should brown well. Do not let them stew in their own liquid. Transfer the mushrooms to a separate bowl, leaving the fat in the pan.

Reduce the heat to medium and add the onion to the fat left in the pan. Cook for about 5–6 minutes, stirring and scraping loose browned bits from the bottom with a spatula, until the onion softens. Add the garlic and cook for about another 1 minute, just until fragrant. Do not add more olive oil.

Pour in all the measured 150 ml water and heat for about 1–2 minutes, scraping the browned bits from the bottom with a spatula. Add the tomatoes with all their juice, the remaining 4 g salt, the pepper, and the dried thyme. Stir and bring the sauce to a gentle boil; the thyme leaves stay in the sauce.

Return the chicken to the sauce with all the juices from the plate. Arrange the pieces in as close to a single layer as possible; the sauce should reach roughly halfway or two thirds up them. Cover with the lid slightly ajar and braise over low heat for about 30–35 minutes, turning the meat halfway through. The sauce should bubble gently, without boiling vigorously. Thick pieces may need another 5–10 minutes. The meat should yield easily to a fork; before finishing, check that the thickest piece is cooked in the center too. Do not treat browning the surface as a substitute for braising.

Add the mushrooms with any liquid collected in the bowl and simmer for about another 8–10 minutes without a lid to bring everything together. If the sauce is still thin, transfer the meat to a plate and reduce the sauce with the mushrooms over medium heat for about 5–8 minutes, stirring, until thick enough to coat a spoon. Return the chicken with its juices and heat briefly, without further prolonged cooking. Divide all the meat, mushrooms, and sauce into four servings; serve immediately, without any additional garnish.