I love Chicken and this classic recipe, passed to me by my mother, is a wonderful way to cook it. Not only is it simple to make from common ingredients but you can prepare the entire dish in one pot and leave it to cook, while you get on with a good book, watch a couple of episodes of your favorite show etc.  The combination of flavors which go into the mix and the stages used in its cooking render the chicken, full of flavor. It’s also a great alternative to roasted chicken and a brilliant meal for a Fall or Winter evening

Ingredients (for 4)

The key ingredients for the Casserole

• 4 Chicken Leg Quarters
• 3 tbsp flour
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/4 tsp dried thyme
• 3 tbsp sunflower or similar vegetable oil
• 1 onion roughly diced
• 2 sticks of celery, trimmed and sliced
• 2 carrots, peeled and chopped in rounds
• 1 can of chopped tomatoes
• 1 cup of dry white wine
• 1 pint of chicken stock
• 2 tsp of honey
• Juice and Grated rind of 1 lemon
• Salt and Pepper to season

Grated lemon

Method

• First a tip:  Pour the flour, paprika, thyme and seasoning into a large Ziploc bag, pop in the Chicken leg quarters, zip the bag and shake until the chicken is coated
• Heat the oil in a large pan and fry both sides of the coated chicken until it is golden brown then remove the chicken and put aside
• Add the carrots, celery and onion to the pan the chicken was cooked in and fry in the same oil for 10 minutes, adding the chopped tomatoes, stirring and frying for another 2 minutes, then pour the fried vegetables and tomato into a casserole dish adding the honey, stock, wine, lemon juice and grated lemon. Season and bring the sauce to the boil
  

  The 4 stages of cooking the casserole

• Add the chicken to the sauce, then cover the dish and place in an oven preheated to 350 f / 180 c cooking for 1 hour

Just perfect served with fresh fluffy boiled potatoes and a squeeze or two from a wedge of lemon. This chicken meal is soft moist and melt in your mouth and I bet, like me, you’ll find yourself making it over and over again…