French Farmhouse Country Chicken

Lay the table, open the wine ... enjoy the company, and the aroma of great food cooking and then sit down and enjoy. This warming French dish may bring some readers happy memories (or dreams) of a weekend in Provence, this dish uses chicken thighs with a mustard braise and sweet root veg. 

Ingredients you'll need for two
4 shallots
1 carrot
1 celery stick
200g white mushrooms
4 bone-in chicken thighs
1 large potato, peeled and roughly chopped*

or chopped swede may be used instead*
2 garlic cloves
1 chicken stock cube
1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 bouquet garni
4 tbsp. double cream
1 tbsp. olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
450ml boiling water
You'll need
A shallow casserole dish or deep frying pan with a lid
Measuring jug

Here's what you do

1. Peel and halve the shallots. Peel and roughly chop the carrot. Trim the celery stick and slice it. Slice the mushrooms or quarter or halve them if they are small.
2. Warm a casserole dish or deep frying pan over a medium heat for 2 minutes. Add 1 tbsp. olive oil and the chicken thighs, skin side down. Fry for 5 minutes till the skin is golden brown. Turn the thighs over and fry for another 2 minutes. Lift the chicken thighs out of the pan and pop them on a plate.
3. Add the shallots, carrot, celery and mushrooms to the pan. Season with salt and pepper. Cook over a medium-low heat for 5 minutes, stirring a few times, till the veg are soft and glossy looking.
4. While the veg are cooking, peel and roughly chop the potato or swede. Peel and crush the garlic. Crumble the stock cube into a measuring jug and stir in 450ml boiling water.
5. Stir the potato/swede and garlic into the veg with the Dijon mustard. Add the bouquet garni. Pop the chicken thighs back in to the pan. Pour in the stock. Cover and turn up the heat. Bring the casserole to the boil, then turn the heat back down and simmer for 30 minutes.
6. The chicken thighs should be cooked through and the veg tender. Turn off the heat. Lift out the bouquet garni and discard it. Stir in 4 tbsp. double cream.
7. Taste the casserole and add more salt and pepper if you think it needs it. Ladle the chicken casserole into 2 warm bowls and serve.

Bouquet garni is French for 'garnished bouquet' and it's a little bundle of herbs used to add flavour to dishes in traditional French cooking. You can tie them together to make them easier to find and fish out once the casserole has finished cooking.
Recipe is from an original idea here

You will find a variety of recipe ideas within this blog, but please note, not all may be suitable for you. If you may have any food allergies, or underlying health issues these must always be taken into account. If you are a diabetic and not sure how certain foods may affect your blood sugars, test is best, i.e. use your meter.

All the best Jan