This recipe is in categories Licence to cook, Main courses,

Difficulty: 3
Comments:

Skills required: handling meat safely, using a knife, using the hob. 

Processes used: top and tailing, browning meat, chopping and peeling

Preparation Time: 20-30 minutes
Cooking Time: 60-90 minutes
Number of servings: 4
Serving suggestions: Serve with jacket potatoes and vegetables.

This chicken casserole is a great basic dish. It is hearty and nutritious, a meal in itself. The chicken thigh meat gives the dish a good flavour and you can remove the bones before cooking if you prefer. Chicken breast meat can be used but the flavour will be milder. You can easily change the flavours to vary this dish by adding a bay leaf or a teaspoon of seeded mustard. It will keep well in the freezer, but make sure you freeze it as soon as it has cooled and only re-heat it once, thoroughly, when defrosted.

• 1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
• 1 carrot, peeled and chopped
• 1 leek, cleaned, trimmed and sliced
• 1 potato, peeled and cut into pieces
• 8-10 mushrooms, washed and sliced in half
• 8 chicken thighs (can use chicken breast too)
• 15ml oil
• 1 tbsp flour
• 800ml stock (water and cube)
• tsp mixed herbs

1. Preheat the oven to 180C / Gas 4
2. Top and tail the onion and then roughly chop
3. Top, tail, peel and slice the carrots
4. Wash, tail and slice the leek
5. Peel and cut the potatoes into large chunks
6. Rinse, then halve the mushrooms
7. With a fresh knife on a clean chopping board, remove the chicken skin (You can also cut the meat into chunks, removing the bones)
8. In a high-sided frying pan or saucepan, fry the chicken for 5 minutes in the oil, until it is sealed (has turned white)
9. Place in an oven proof dish 
10. Add the potatoes to the chicken
11. Fry the onion for 2 minutes then add the leeks, mushrooms and carrots
12. Sprinkle over the flour, then gradually add the stock, stirring constantly until thickened
13. Pour this mixture over the chicken and potatoes and add the herbs
14. Cover the oven proof dish and cook in the oven for 60 to 90 minutes