Chicken Casserole

This ‘Comforting Chicken Casserole’ is a great supper dish from Fiona Heggie and Ellie Lux.  It is full of flavour and very easy to make. The sauce creates a delicious broth, which is perfectly paired with mashed potato or boiled rice. 

Serves: 4
Prep: 5 mins
Cook: 30 mins

•  2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 boneless chicken thighs with skin on
• 100g bacon lardons or chopped bacon
• 1 large onion, chopped 2 small sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes
• 16 button mushrooms, cut into quarters
• 500ml Vegetable Stock or ½ low-salt vegetable stock cube dissolved in 500ml boiling water
• 3 fresh thyme sprigs

1. Heat the oil in a heavy-based pan over a medium to high heat and fry the chicken, skin side down, until it becomes crispy. It will take about 5 minutes to get a lovely golden colour. Use a slotted spoon to remove the chicken pieces and set aside.
2. Pour away any excess fat and then, in the same pan, cook the bacon lardons and onions for about 5 minutes until they have taken on some colour.
3. Add the sweet potatoes and mushrooms and then return the chicken pieces to the pan, placing them on top, skin side up.
4. Pour over the stock until it just reaches the chicken skin, add the thyme and cover with a lid.
5. Leave to simmer very gently for about 10–15 minutes until the chicken is cooked through. The cooking time will depend on the size of the chicken pieces so do check by removing a piece of chicken and cutting into it with a sharp knife.
6. If you end up having more sauce than you’d like in the pan, simply strain into a clean saucepan, bring to the boil and reduce down by boiling it.

Optional Extras:

You can add a few handfuls of cooked lentils or quinoa as they’re both good sources of extra protein. Simply mix them in for the last 5 minutes of cooking.

You can find this recipe in The Allergy-Free Family Cookbook: 100 delicious recipes free from dairy, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, soya, gluten sesame and shellfish.  Follow this link to buy it.

**Always check the ingredients of any food you’re cooking with to make sure it doesn’t contain something you or your child should avoid.