Autumn Chicken Casserole

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Ingredients

• 1.57kg Free Range Organic Chicken
• A little butter with oil for sautéing
• 340g streaky bacon, or lardoons (try using a good quality Irish product, Gubeen, Hicks or Umeura )
• 4 carrots, peeled and thickly sliced (if the carrots are small, leave whole. If large cut in chunks)
• 2 Butternut Squash
• 4 Sweet Potato
• 450g Baby onions, peeled whole
• Sprig of thyme
• Homemade chicken stock – 1/4 pints (750ml) approx.
• Roux – optional (see below)
• Seasonal Mushrooms
• 2/3 Tablespoons cream
• 25g butter
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Joint the chicken up into 8 parts if using a whole chicken. If not using whole chicken use a mix of thighs and drumsticks, don’t use those awful skinless breasts you can buy, they taste of nothing.

Season the chicken well

Heat the butter and oil together in the casserole, until bubbling. Add the lardoons and cook until just crisp, don’t burn them!

Remove from the Pot

Add chicken pieces sauté until golden, Remove from the pot.

You don’t want stuff to burn, but you want them to brown, so take care to adjust your hob accordingly. If using the Kuppersbusch induction hob here then keep your hob on ‘6’.

Now put your onions and carrots in the pot. Season again. It is important to season as you go, and your end flavour will be delicious.

You may have to add another knob of butter to the pot

Remove the vegetables from the Pot.

Now brown the sweet potato and squash. And again season and remove from the pot.

Add a little of the hot stock to the pot to deglaze, then layer up the ingredients in the pot, but do not add the squash or sweet potato at this stage.

Pour the rest of the stock over the casserole.

Add a little bunch of thyme and a bay leaf or two. Simmer for 40 minutes or so on the hob or put into the oven for same amount of time at 180°C.

Add the sweet potato and the butternut squash now, they’ll only take a further 15 – 20 minutes to cook. You can thicken the stew at this stage, it’s very easy to do for any stew. Just melt about 50g butter and whisk in 50g flour, cook it through and then crumble it into the stew and let it cook out. This is a roux

In the meantime sauté the mushrooms in the butter, add the cream, reduce then season.

Add this to the pot. You can leave this part out, but it does enrich the whole dish and the earthy flavour of the mushrooms at this time of year should not be missed.

Eat with Creamy Mash and a Rocket Salad