Recipe: Arushi’s chicken casserole

Published on January 28, 2014

Recipe and photo by Arushi Patel

I think it’s true that we Brits are used to the unpredictable weather, but sometimes it still shocks us when there’s sun one hour and then two hours later… snow. But I believe that a comforting and classic dish can welcome us home or be something to look forward to at the end of the day. This is a family favourite – chicken casserole, which in our home is served with garlic bread or creamy mash.

Chicken casserole

Serves 4-6

3 tbsp of vegetable oil
50g butter
Half tbsp crushed garlic
1 onion, thinly sliced
2 tbsp plain flour
2 whole chickens, cut up and the meat cubed (you can use the carcass for stock to use another time). Or six chicken breasts.
6 celery sticks, chopped
6 carrots, peeled and chopped
4 parsnips, peeled and chopped
8 chestnut mushrooms, quartered
1 tbsp each of dried thyme and rosemary
1 bay leaf, torn
2 chicken stock cubes, crumbled
Boiling water

1. Pre-heat your oven to 200C. Put your oil and butter in a large casserole dish on a low heat and add the garlic and onions and cook gently for about 10 minutes, till the onions have softened (keep it moving and be careful the garlic doesn’t burn).

2. Chop up the chicken cubes from the carcasses, dust the chicken with the flour and add to the onion and garlic, then cook till the outer skin has whitened. Add the vegetables and cook for a further 5mins then throw in the herbs, bay leaf, stock cubes and boiling water till it covers everything.

3. Cover the casserole dish and place it in the oven for about 1 hour and 15 minutes until it is all cooked and nicely thickened. If yours hasn’t thickened enough, then you can mix 1 tablespoon of cornflour to 3 tablespoons of water and add it to the casserole; this will need an extra 10 minutes in the oven.

Serve with garlic bread or a creamy mash… otherwise enjoy it as it is in your favourite bowl.
__________

Great Food Club tip: Why not use locally-grown organic vegetables from Woodlands Organic Farm in Lincolnshire? They can deliver them to your door.
__________

Arushi Patel lives in Leicester and is passionate about food and drink, both local and more exotic. Read her blog here.