Quick Chicken Casserole
Ingredients
- 0.5 tbsp olive oil
- 150g/5oz bacon , chopped
- 750g/ 1.5lb boneless skinless chicken thighs , cut into 3cm / 1.25″ pieces (Note 1)
- 1/2 tsp salt and pepper , each
- 3 garlic cloves , minced (1 tbsp)
- 1 onion , sliced
- 3 carrots , peeled, halved lengthwise, sliced 1cm / 1/3″ thick
- 2 celery stalks , sliced 1cm / 1/3″ thick
- 1 1/2 cups (375ml) red wine (Note 2)
- 4 tbsp flour
- 3 cups (750ml) beef stock/broth , low sodium (or chicken, Note 3)
- 400g/ 14oz crushed tomato , canned
- 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 tsp salt and pepper , each
- 1 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 2 dried bay leaves
- 350g/ 12 oz baby potatoes , halved
- 200g/ 6oz mushrooms , halved (large quartered)
- 150g/ 5 oz green beans , trimmed and halved
Method
- Place oil and bacon in a large heavy based casserole pot over high heat.
- When the oil is heated and bacon releases some fat, add chicken.
- Sprinkle with salt and pepper and cook, until chicken and bacon is browned.
- Add garlic and onion, cook 1 minute.
- Add celery and carrot, cook 2 minutes.
- Add red wine, allow to simmer rapidly 2 minutes until the winey alcohol smell is gone.
- Add flour, mix until incorporated.
- Slowly pour in half the beef broth while stirring, then pour the rest in.
- Add tomato, Worcestershire, thyme, bay leaves, salt, pepper.
- Stir, add potato.
- Cover, simmer 30 minutes.
- Remove lid, add mushrooms and green beans. Simmer without lid* for a further 10 minutes.
- Serve with crusty bread, sprinkled with parsley if desired!
Non alcoholic sub – brown the bacon well first, remove. Brown the mushrooms, remove. Then brown chicken, and proceed with recipe (add bacon in once chicken browned, mushrooms at end per recipe). These multi-stage browning will create an intense “flavoured mix” on the base of the pan (ie the brown stuff) which will add great flavour into the stew sauce, making up for absence of wine.
