CASSEROLES, STEWS & BRAISES
Preparation Time 15 minutes • Cooking Time 2 hours • Serves 6 • Per Serving 740 calories, 44.3g fat (of which 17.1g saturates), 25.9g carbohydrate, 1.8g salt • A Little Effort
1 large chicken jointed or 6–8 chicken joints
2 tbsp well-seasoned flour
100g (31⁄2oz) butter
125g (4oz) lean bacon, diced
1 medium onion, quartered
1 medium carrot, quartered
4 tbsp brandy
600ml (1 pint) red wine
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 bouquet garni
1 sugar lump
2 tbsp vegetable oil
450g (1lb) button onions
a pinch of sugar
1 tsp wine vinegar
225g (8oz) button mushrooms
6 slices white bread, crusts removed
salt and ground black pepper
1. Coat the chicken pieces with 1 tbsp seasoned flour. Melt 25g (1oz) butter in a flameproof casserole. Add the chicken and fry gently until golden brown on all sides. Add the bacon, onion and carrot and fry until softened.
2. Heat the brandy in a small pan, pour over the chicken and ignite, shaking the pan so that all the chicken pieces are covered in flames. Pour in the wine and stir to dislodge any sediment from the base of the casserole. Add the garlic, bouquet garni and sugar lump and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 1–11⁄2 hours or until the chicken is cooked through.
3. Meanwhile, melt 25g (1oz) butter with 1 tsp oil in a frying pan. Add the button onions and fry until they begin to brown. Add the pinch of sugar and vinegar together with 1 tbsp water. Cover and simmer for 10–15 minutes until just tender. Keep warm.
4. Melt 25g (1oz) butter with 2 tsp oil in a pan. Add the mushrooms and cook for a few minutes, then turn off the heat and keep warm.
5. Remove the chicken from the casserole and place in a dish. Surround with the onions and mushrooms and keep hot.
6. Discard the bouquet garni. Skim the excess fat from the cooking liquid, then boil the liquid in the casserole briskly for 3–5 minutes to reduce it.
7. Add the remaining oil to the fat in the frying pan and fry the pieces of bread until golden brown on both sides. Cut each slice into triangles.
8. Work the remaining butter and flour to make a beurre manié. Remove the casserole from the heat and add small pieces of the beurre manié to the cooking liquid. Stir until smooth, then put back on to the heat and bring just to the boil. The sauce should be thick and shiny. Take off the heat and adjust the seasoning. Return the chicken, onions and mushrooms to the casserole and stir to combine. Garnish with the fried bread and serve.
Preparation Time 10 minutes • Cooking Time 1 hour 5 minutes–1 hour 10 minutes • Serves 6 • Per Serving 690 calories, 41g fat (of which 12g saturates), 33g carbohydrate, 2.6g salt • Dairy Free • Easy
1 tbsp olive oil
12 chicken pieces (6 drumsticks and 6 thighs)
175g (6oz) chorizo sausage, cubed
1 onion, finely chopped
2 large garlic cloves, crushed
1 tsp mild chilli powder
3 red peppers, seeded and roughly chopped
400g (14oz) passata
2 tbsp tomato purée
300ml (1⁄2 pint) hot chicken stock
2 × 400g cans butter beans, drained and rinsed
200g (7oz) new potatoes, halved
1 small bunch of thyme
1 bay leaf
200g (7oz) baby leaf spinach
1. Preheat the oven to 190°C (170°C fan oven) mark 5. Heat the oil in a large flameproof casserole and brown the chicken all over. Remove from the pan and set aside. Add the chorizo to the casserole and fry for 2–3 minutes until its oil starts to run. Add the onion, garlic and chilli powder and fry over a low heat for 5 minutes or until soft.
2. Add the peppers and cook for 2–3 minutes until soft. Stir in the passata, tomato purée, stock, butter beans, potatoes, thyme sprigs and bay leaf. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Return the chicken and any juices to the casserole. Bring to a simmer, then cover and cook in the oven for 30–35 minutes. If the sauce looks thin, return the casserole to the hob over a medium heat and simmer to reduce until nicely thick.
4. Remove the thyme and bay leaf, then stir in the spinach until it wilts. Serve immediately.
Use mixed beans instead of the butter beans.
Preparation Time 20 minutes • Cooking Time 1 hour 40 minutes • Serves 6 • Per Serving 474 calories, 33g fat (of which 9g saturates), 6g carbohydrate, 0.6g salt • Dairy Free • Easy
2 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, cut into wedges
2 rindless streaky bacon rashers, chopped
1 chicken, about 1.6kg (31⁄2lb)
6 carrots
2 small turnips, cut into wedges
1 garlic clove, crushed
bouquet garni (1 bay leaf, a few fresh parsley and thyme sprigs)
600ml (1 pint) hot chicken stock
100ml (31⁄2fl oz) dry white wine
12 button mushrooms
3 tbsp freshly chopped flat-leafed parsley
salt and ground black pepper
mashed potatoes to serve (optional)
1. Heat the oil in a non-stick flameproof casserole. Add the onion and bacon and fry for 5 minutes or until golden. Remove and put to one side.
2. Add the whole chicken to the casserole and fry for 10 minutes, turning carefully to brown all over. Remove and put to one side.
3. Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan oven) mark 6. Add the carrots, turnips and garlic to the casserole and fry for 5 minutes, then add the onion and bacon. Put the chicken back into the casserole, add the bouquet garni, hot stock and wine and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer, then cover the pan and cook in the oven for 30 minutes.
4. Remove the casserole from the oven and add the mushrooms. Baste the chicken, then re-cover and cook for a further 50 minutes.
5. Lift out the chicken, then stir the parsley into the cooking liquid. Carve the chicken and serve with the vegetables and cooking liquid, and mashed potatoes, if you like.
Use chicken pieces such as drumsticks or thighs, reducing the cooking time in step 4 to 20 minutes.
Preparation Time 15 minutes • Cooking Time 1 hour 10 minutes • Serves 4 • Per Serving 358 calories, 14g fat (of which 4g saturates), 8g carbohydrate, 1.1g salt • Dairy Free • Easy
8 slices prosciutto
8 large boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 tbsp olive oil
1 fat garlic clove, crushed
about 12 shallots or button onions
225g (8oz) fresh shiitake mushrooms
1 tbsp plain flour
300ml (1⁄2 pint) red wine
300ml (1⁄2 pint) hot chicken stock
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 bay leaf
salt and ground black pepper
crusty bread to serve
1. Wrap a slice of prosciutto around each chicken thigh. Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan and fry the chicken thighs in batches for 8–10 minutes until golden brown all over. Transfer to a plate and put to one side.
2. Add the garlic and shallots or button onions and fry over a low heat for 5 minutes or until the shallots are beginning to soften and turn golden. Stir in the mushrooms and flour and cook over a low heat for 1–2 minutes.
3. Put the chicken back in the pan and add the wine, hot stock, Worcestershire sauce and bay leaf. Season lightly with salt and pepper, bring to the boil for 5 minutes, then reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 45 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the juices run clear when the thickest part of the thigh is pierced with a skewer. Serve with crusty bread.
• If you can’t buy prosciutto, thinly cut smoked streaky bacon will work just as well.
• Use button mushrooms if you can’t find shiitake.
To freeze This dish is ideal for freezing for an easy meal another day. Double the quantities and make another meal for four or make two meals for two people and freeze. Complete the recipe, cool quickly, then put into a freezerproof container and freeze for up to three months.
To use Thaw overnight at cool room temperature, then put back into a large pan. Bring slowly to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer gently for about 10–15 minutes until piping hot.
Preparation Time 45 minutes • Cooking Time about 1 hour • Serves 4 • Per Serving 787 calories, 51g fat (of which 22g saturates), 24g carbohydrate, 1.5g salt • A Little Effort
750ml bottle full-bodied white wine, such as Chardonnay
4 tbsp brandy
2 bouquet garni
1 garlic clove, bruised
plain flour to coat
1 chicken, about 1.4kg (3lb), jointed, or 2 boneless breasts, halved, plus 2 drumsticks and 2 thighs
125g (4oz) butter
125g (4oz) rindless unsmoked bacon rashers, cut into strips
225g (8oz) baby onions, peeled with root ends intact
225g (8oz) brown-cap mushrooms, halved, or quartered if large
25g (1oz) butter mixed with 25g (1oz) plain flour)
salt and ground black pepper
buttered noodles or rice to serve
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan oven) mark 4. Pour the wine and brandy into a pan. Add 1 bouquet garni and the garlic. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until reduced by half. Cool.
2. Season the flour with salt and pepper and use to coat the chicken joints lightly. Melt half the butter in a large frying pan. When foaming, add the chicken joints and brown all over (in batches if necessary). Transfer to a flameproof casserole. Add the bacon to the frying pan and fry until golden. Remove with a slotted spoon and add to the chicken.
3. Strain the cooled reduced wine mixture over the chicken and add the other bouquet garni. Bring to the boil, cover and cook in the oven for 30 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, melt the remaining butter in a frying pan and fry the onions until tender and lightly browned. Add the mushrooms and fry until softened.
5. Add the mushrooms and onions to the casserole, cover and cook for a further 10 minutes or until the chicken is tender. Lift out the chicken and vegetables with a slotted spoon and put into a warmed serving dish. Cover and keep warm.
6. Bring the cooking liquid in the casserole to the boil. Whisk in the beurre manié, a piece at a time, until the sauce is shiny and syrupy. Check the seasoning.
7. Pour the sauce over the chicken. Serve with buttered noodles or rice.
Preparation Time 5 minutes • Cooking Time 30 minutes • Serves 4 • Per Serving 338 calories, 14g fat (of which 3g saturates), 14g carbohydrate, 1.2g salt • Dairy Free • Easy
4 chicken breasts, with skin, about 125g (4oz) each
2 large parsnips, chopped
2 large carrots, chopped
300ml (1⁄2 pint) ready-made gravy
125g (4oz) cabbage, shredded
ground black pepper
1. Heat a non-stick frying pan or flameproof casserole until hot. Add the chicken breasts, skin side down, and cook for 5–6 minutes. Turn them over, add the parsnips and carrots and cook for a further 7–8 minutes.
2. Pour the gravy over the chicken and vegetables, then cover the pan and cook gently for 10 minutes.
3. Season with pepper and stir in the cabbage, then cover and continue to cook for 4–5 minutes until the chicken is cooked through, the cabbage has wilted and the vegetables are tender. Serve hot.
Preparation Time 30 minutes • Cooking Time about 2 hours • Serves 6 • Per Serving 506 calories, 28g fat (of which 9g saturates), 10g carbohydrate, 1g salt • A Little Effort
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp freshly chopped thyme
125g (4oz) chestnut mushrooms, finely chopped
6 whole chicken legs (drumsticks and thighs)
18 thin slices pancetta
2 tbsp plain flour
25g (1oz) butter
18 small shallots
12 garlic cloves, unpeeled but split
750ml bottle full-bodied white wine, such as Chardonnay
2 bay leaves
salt and ground black pepper
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan oven) mark 4. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a frying pan. Add the thyme and mushrooms and fry until the moisture has evaporated. Season with salt and pepper and cool.
2. Loosen the skin away from one chicken leg and spoon a little of the mushroom paste underneath. Season the leg all over with salt and pepper, then wrap three pancetta slices around the thigh end. Repeat with the remaining chicken legs, then dust using 1 tbsp flour.
3. Melt the butter in a frying pan with the remaining oil over a high heat. Fry the chicken legs, in batches, seam side down, until golden. Turn the legs, brown the other side, then transfer to a casserole. The browning should take 8–10 minutes per batch.
4. Put the shallots and garlic into the frying pan and cook for 10 minutes or until browned. Sprinkle over the remaining flour and cook for 1 minute. Pour in the wine and bring to the boil, stirring. Pour into the casserole with the chicken and add the bay leaves. Cover and cook in the oven for 11⁄2 hours. Serve hot.
To freeze Complete the recipe to the end of step 4. Cool quickly, then freeze in an airtight container for up to one month.
To use Thaw overnight at cool room temperature. Preheat the oven to 220°C (200°C fan oven) mark 7. Put the chicken back into the casserole and reheat in the oven for 15 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 180°C (160°C fan oven) mark 4 and cook for a further 25 minutes.
Preparation Time 15 minutes • Cooking Time 50 minutes • Serves 6 • Per Serving 323 calories, 18g fat (of which 5g saturates), 17g carbohydrate, 0.9g salt • Gluten Free • Dairy Free • Easy
1 fresh rosemary sprig
2 bay leaves
1.4kg (3lb) chicken
1 red onion, cut into wedges
2 carrots, cut into chunks
2 leeks, trimmed and cut into chunks
2 celery sticks, cut into chunks
12 baby new potatoes, halved if large
900ml (11⁄2 pints) hot chicken stock
200g (7oz) green beans, trimmed
salt and ground black pepper
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan oven) mark 4. Put the herbs and chicken into a large, flameproof casserole. Add the onion, carrots, leeks, celery, potatoes, stock and seasoning. Bring to the boil, then cook in the oven for 45 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. To test the chicken, pierce the thickest part of the leg with a knife; the juices should run clear.
2. Add the beans and cook for 5 minutes. Remove the chicken and spoon the vegetables into six bowls. Carve the chicken and divide among the bowls, the ladle the cooking liquid over.
Omit the baby new potatoes and serve with mashed potatoes.
