Chicken & Leek Casserole

I’m not sure the picture really does justice to how tasty this is. Apart from being ideal for Autumn I love this recipe as you can serve it with veg, with rice, stick a pastry top on it and turn it into a pie or even just serve it with a dollop of mash. It’s very versatile, so well worth making a large batch.

Ingredients

Whole roasted chicken
6 x trimmed leeks
6 x mushrooms
2 garlic cloves
Glass of cooking wine
Juices from the chicken (if you have them)
1 pint of chicken stock
150ml single cream
Salt and pepper
Olive oil
Cornflour
Dried herbs eg sage, thyme

1. I start by roasting my own chicken as that way I have the juices to use which makes a big difference on flavour.

2. Gently fry the leeks, mushrooms and garlic in olive oil until soft.

3. Add the cooking wine and bring to the boil to cook off the alcohol (this makes it fine for kids to eat). If you don’t have cooking wine then a couple of shots of brandy will work too.

4. Add the chicken, chicken juices (don’t forget to remove the excess fat!) and chicken stock and dried herbs. Simmer for 5 minutes. You can add more or less chicken stock deopending on how loose you want your casserole. You can thicken the mixture by making a paste from two teaspoons of cornflour and a little water, stir into the casserole to thicken.

5. Remove the casserole from the heat and leave to cool for a minute or two before adding the single cream. It’s critical you let the casserole cool a little or the cream will curdle. If you want a lower fat casserole replace the cream with low fat creme fraiche.

6. Season the casserole to taste with sea salt and cracked black pepper.