There’s nothing like slow cooked chicken on a chilly evening. It's so easy to cook – and the best way to enhance the chicken's flavors, too. This dish is a real treat: there's a gorgeous contrast between the crisp, golden skin and the tender, juicy meat of this cooked chicken casserole recipe. And, while it's a favorite for this time of year, the fresh mint and peas give it a wonderfully fresh flavor that makes it ideal for spring, too.
This recipe serves four people, takes two hours to cook and it's totally versatile – serve it up with potatoes – mashed, roasted or new – crunchy bread or rice. The recipe we've used is for cooking in the oven, but if you have a slow cooker, that's a great option, too. Find more slow cooker recipes on our dedicated page.
- Best slow cooker: don't miss our pick of the top buys
Slow-cooked chicken casserole
- Thanks to Lidl for this amazing recipe
Ingredients:
- 1kg of chicken drumsticks (with the skin on)
- 2 tbsp of oil
- 1 tbsp of flour
- 2 onions
- Half a leek
- 1 stick of celery
- 200g of pancetta
- 2 garlics
- 350ml of white wine
- 400ml of chicken stock
- 225g of frozen peas
- 10g of mint
- 10g of parsley
- Black pepper
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 150°C/130°C fan/gas mark
2. Place a casserole dish over a medium heat. When it is heated add the oil. Dust the chicken in the flour, then add it to the pan to fry for eight minutes or until it is golden all over.
3. Remove the chicken from the pan, and reduce the heat and add the left over oil, onions, leek and celery. Cook all these ingredients for five minutes or until they're soft, then add the pancetta and turn up the heat slightly and cook for a further five minutes.
4. Add in the garlic and wine, again increasing the heat for a couple of minutes until the wine has reduced by two thirds.
5. Add the stock, stirring well, bringing the heat up to boil. Season generously with black pepper. Place the chicken back in the pan, with the pieces facing skin-side up across the dish.
6. Place the ingredients in the oven and cook for 80 minutes, keeping an eye on the liquid level and topping up with a little extra stock if required.
7. When this time is done, add the peas straight from the freezer and turn the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas mark 6. Remove the lid from the dish and return to the oven uncovered to brown the skin.
8. Stir in the herbs and allow the casserole to sit for five minutes before serving it up.
- While were on the topic, who doesn't love a slow roasted leg of lamb?
- Or for a bit of comfort food try this pumpkin soup
