Chicken, lentils and baby onions

Tam West

This casserole has its origins in Greece where it is made with either chicken or rabbit. With slow cooking, the baby onions become sweet and tender, while the lentils swell up to provide great nutritious texture. To cook in a crock pot, add all the ingredients from step 4, cover and cook for 5-6 hours.

Ingredients

4 Tbsp	Olive oil
12	Baby onions, peeled
700 g	Boneless chicken thighs (Main)
½ cup	Flour
½	Onions, diced
3	Garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 can	Chopped tomatoes, 400g
2	Bay leaves
2 tsp	Dried oregano
1 quill	Cinnamon
8 whole	Cloves
1 tsp	Ground allspice
1 cup	Red wine
3 cups	Chicken stock
1 cup	Puy lentils (Main)
2 Tbsp	Parsley, flat or curly, sliced
2 tsp	Lemon zest, grated
1 Tbsp	Lemon juice

Directions

1. Heat oven to 150C. Heat 2 Tbsp olive oil in a large frying pan. Gently fry baby onions over medium heat for 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove and set aside.
2. Season chicken thighs with salt then dust with flour. Fry chicken in the same pan, adding extra oil if necessary for 5 minutes until brown. Remove and set aside.
3. Gently fry diced onion in the same pan with extra oil if necessary for 5 minutes until translucent. Add garlic and tomato paste, cook for 10 minutes on a low heat.
4. Add tomatoes, herbs, spices, wine and stock. Bring to the boil and season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Transfer to a casserole, add chicken and baby onions then stir through the lentils.
5. Cover with a tight-fitting lid and place in the oven for 2 hours. Serve with a sprinkling of sliced fresh parsley and lemon zest. Drizzle with olive oil and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.

More of Geoff's comfort food recipes

• Pork and beans
• Tomato, thyme and feta prawns