For 4
Ingredients
- 250g baby shallots, peeled
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 small bunch fresh thyme, tied together with string
- 2 bay leaves
- 500ml/20fl oz red wine
- 600g skinless boneless chicken thighs, cut into pieces (3 or 4 per thigh)
- olive oil
- 50g butter
- plain flour
- 75g lardons
- 250g mushrooms, sliced
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- savoy cabbage (shredded)
- 6 juniper berries (optional) crushed and chopped
- Put
the shallots in a large bowl with the garlic, herbs and wine. Mix,
then add the chicken, season with salt and black pepper and
marinate for at least 1 hour.
- Sit
a colander over a large saucepan and strain the marinated chicken,
reserving the wine and separately the shallots, bay leaves and thyme.
- In a small bowl, lightly coat the chicken pieces with the flour.
- Heat the oil and 2/3 of the butter in a deep casserole. Add the chicken breasts and fry on a medium-high heat, for 5–10 minutes each side, or until browned all over – you may need to do this in batches. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
- Meanwhile fry the bacon separately over a low heat for about 10 minutes, until browned. Add the reserved shallots and continue to cook for another 10 minutes, or until they start to soften.
- Add the wine to the casserole, reserved bay leaves, thyme, salt and black pepper and bring to a boil. Add the browned chicken, lardons and shallots. Reserve the fat fron the bacon. Bring back to the boil, cover with a lid and cook over a low heat or bake for 20–25 minutes at 160C, or until cooked through.
- Meanwhile, melt the remaining butter in a medium pan and fry the mushrooms over a medium heat for 5–10 minutes, or until just cooked. Add to the chicken casserole just before serving. Remove the bay leaves and thyme from the casserole.
- For the cabbage, heat the bacon fat (or use olive oil) in a lidded pan, add the shredded cabbage and juniper berries and cook over a low heat for about 20 minutes.
- Serve the casserole hot with mashed potato and the cabbage.
