Gino's chicken and porcini mushroom casserole

He's already been out fighting fires and saving lives for us - and this week Gino D'Acampo has swapped beating eggs in the kitchen to be a bobby on the beat.

Our chef goes out with the Merseyside police and answers 999 calls before taking the cop car back to the station and getting banged up in the kitchen to cook up the evening meal.

Serves: 6

Ingredients

25g dried porcini mushrooms200ml warm water5 tablespoons olive oil6 medium skinless, boneless chicken breasts1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped2 celery sticks, finely chopped150g cup mushrooms, roughly chopped150ml Italian white wine1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes100ml passata (sieved tomatoes)200ml hot chicken stock, made with stock cubes1 teaspoon caster sugar1 tablespoon fresh oregano leaves, roughly choppedFresh flat leaf parsley to garnishSalt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

• Preheat oven to 180°C/gas mark 4. Place the porcini mushrooms in a bowl, pour over the warm water and leave to soak for 20 minutes.

• Heat the oil in a large, flameproof casserole dish over a medium heat and fry the chicken breasts for 8 minutes until they are brown all over. Do not move them around or they will not take on any colour. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.

• Add the onion, carrots, celery and cup mushrooms to the casserole dish and fry for 10 minutes over a gentle heat, stirring occasionally

• Drain the porcini mushrooms, reserving their soaking liquid, then squeeze them in your hands to remove any more liquid. Finely chop the mushrooms and add to the casserole dish together with the reserved soaking liquid, wine, tinned tomatoes, passata, stock, sugar and oregano. Return the chicken to the dish along with its juices. Bring to the boil, cover with a lid and transfer to the oven to cook for 45 minutes.

• Serve on a large serving plate garnished with chopped flat leaf parsley