Chicken, Cider And Sage Casserole/ Chicken And Mustard Hotpot

Ingredients (Each recipe serves 2-3)

2 tbs sunflower oil

600 g chicken breast fillets, cut into

chunks

15 g butter

2 leeks, trimmed and thickly sliced 1 garlic clove, crushed

2 tbs plain flour

300 ml cider

300 ml chicken stock

195 g can sweetcorn kernels, drained

1 tbs fresh sage, chopped Salt and black pepper

For the hotpot:

2 tbs single cream

1 tbs Dijon mustard

300 g potatoes, thickly

sliced

15 g butter, melted

25 g gruyère cheese, grated

1 Heat 1 tbs oil in a flameproof casserole and fry the chicken until starting to brown. Transfer to a plate. Heat the remaining oil and butter and sauté the leeks for 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute, then stir in the flour.

2 Add the cider and stock. Return chicken to the pan and bring to the boil, stirring. Simmer for 30 minutes. Add the sweetcorn kernels and sage. Season to taste. Simmer for 5 minutes. Remove half the casserole and set aside to cool, then freeze.

3 Serve the casserole with a green vegetable, such as sugar snap peas and baby potatoes, in their skins, if wished.

To make the Chicken and Mustard Hotpot:

1 Defrost the chicken casserole and stir in the cream and mustard. Transfer to a 0.7-litre ovenproof dish.

2 Pre-heat the oven to 200°C, fan oven 180°C, Gas Mark 6. Arrange the potatoes over the top of the hot pot. Brush with melted butter.

3 Cover the dish with aluminium foil and cook for 30 minutes in the oven. Remove the foil and sprinkle the top with gruyère cheese and cook for a further 20-30 minutes, or until the potatoes are cooked through and light golden brown on the top.