house warmer
One-pot chicken
Serves 4
1 kg bone-in chicken thighs or use whole legs
or drumsticks
4 Tbsp seasoned flour
25g butter
1 leek, white and light green parts only, very
thinly sliced
4 small carrots, thinly sliced
2 stalks celery, strings removed with a vegetable peeler, stalks thinly sliced, or 200g celeriac, peeled, thinly sliced and cut again into smaller pieces
250ml white wine (a dry riesling is great here) 250ml chicken stock
1 cup frozen peas
To finish
1 Tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley
1 Tbsp cream or creme fraiche, optional
1 Heat the oven to 180C.
2 Trim any excess skin and fat from the chicken and pat dry with kitchen paper. Place the seasoned flour on a plate and dust the chicken in the flour, coating well. 3 Heat a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the butter and as it begins to sizzle, add the chicken thighs and brown on both sides. Transfer to a casserole dish. Tip any remaining seasoned flour over the chicken. 4 Lower the heat, add the leek to the pan and cook until it begins to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the carrots and celery or celeriac and cook for a further 1 minute. Increase the heat, pour in the wine and let it bubble up and reduce a little. Pour in the stock and bring up to the boil. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper before placing in the casserole dish. 5 Cover dish and place in the oven to cook for 40 minutes. Remove chicken from the oven and add the peas. Return to the oven and cook for a further 15 minutes until the chicken is cooked through. Stir in the herbs and, if using, the cream or creme fraiche. The creme fraiche will curdle a little in the hot sauce, so it’s best to remove the chicken thighs and whisk in the creme fraiche to avoid this. 6 Serve with mashed potato.