One-pot chicken

Tam West

Ingredients

1 kg	Bone-in chicken thighs, or use whole legs or drumsticks (Main)
4 Tbsp	Seasoned flour
25 g	Butter
1	Leek, white and light green parts only, very thinly sliced
4 small	Carrots, thinly sliced
2	Celery stalks, strings removed with a vegetable peeler, stalks thinly sliced, or 200g celeriac, peeled, thinly sliced and cut again into smaller pieces
250 ml	White wine, a dry riesling is great here
250 ml	Chicken stock
1 cup	Frozen peas

To finish

1 Tbsp	Flat leaf parsley leaves, chopped
1 Tbsp	Cream, or creme fraiche, optional

Directions

1. Heat the oven to 180C.
2. Trim any excess skin and fat from the chicken and pat dry with kitchen paper. Place the seasoned flour on a plate and dust the chicken in the flour, coating well.
3. Heat a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the butter and as it begins to sizzle, add the chicken thighs and brown on both sides. Transfer to a casserole dish. Tip any remaining seasoned flour over the chicken.
4. Lower the heat, add the leek to the pan and cook until it begins to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the carrots and celery or celeriac and cook for a further 1 minute. Increase the heat, pour in the wine and let it bubble up and reduce a little. Pour in the stock and bring up to the boil. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper before placing in the casserole dish.
5. Cover dish and place in the oven to cook for 40 minutes. Remove chicken from the oven and add the peas. Return to the oven and cook for a further 15 minutes until the chicken is cooked through. Stir in the herbs and, if using, the cream or creme fraiche. The creme fraiche will curdle a little in the hot sauce, so it's best to remove the chicken thighs and whisk in the creme fraiche to sort this.
6. Serve with mashed potato.