Italian-style chicken casserole

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp cornflour
• 2 tsp olive oil
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 3 carrots sliced
• 1 red pepper deseeded and diced
• 350g (12oz) small shallots peeled
• 6 skinless boneless chicken thigh fillets (about 525g/1lb 3oz trimmed weight)trimmed of fat each cut in half or into quarters
• 1 clove garlic crushed (optional)
• 225g (8oz) button mushrooms
• 400g (14oz) can chopped tomatoes in rich natural juice
• 150ml (¼ pint) homemade or reduced-salt chicken stock
• 150ml (¼ pint) red wine
• 1 tsp each dried thyme and dried oregano