It’s been quite chilly recently so the slow cooked casseroles and stews have started appearing on our dinner table more often. This is a simple recipe that uses few ingredients to give a really tasty dinner. Serve with some creamy mashed potatoes.
For 4 people you will need:
A chicken leg per person
A few sprigs of fresh thyme (see note 1)
6-8 shallots peeled and cut in half lenghways
100g smoked lardons or a piece of smoked bacon cut into small cubes
2 cloves of garlic finely chopped
Half a bottle of wine preferably Riesling (see note 2)
Olive oil
A tablespoon of plain flour
Method:
Season the chicken legs well with salt and pepper and then fry them in a little olive oil turning them until they are browned all over. Remove to a plate and set aside.
If there is a lot of fat left in the pan, drain some off leaving just a tablespoon and then pop in the lardons and shallots. Fry for a couple of minutes until just starting to take on some colour. Add the garlic and fry for another minute.
Add the tablespoon of flour and stir in thoroughly and then pour in the wine slowly stirring all the time. Pop the chicken legs and any juices back in the pan, tuck the sprigs of thyme among the chicken and add a little water so that the level is around half way up the chicken legs. Taste and if you feel you need a bit more flavour at this point you can add a teaspoon of chicken stock powder or half a stock cube.
Bring to the boil, turn the heat right down and simmer very gently for around 30 to 40 minutes.
Notes
- If you don’t have fresh thyme then half a teaspoon of dried thyme would be fine
- Riesling is my wine of choice but really any white wine would be fine. The Riesling I used was dry but an off-dry wine would also be delicious.
- Serve the rest of the white wine you used alongside the dish!
