Three Ways With One Pot Chicken

Cooking a meal in one pot cuts down on the work you have to do in preparing and washing up afterwards, and condenses all the flavours of the food so that you end up with an intensely tasty dish.

Summery One Pot Chicken Roast

This is a deliciously easy meal, with summery flavours and lots of varying textures. Eat it with a crisp green salad and some flat breads to mop up the citrus-rich sauce. It’s an ideal dish for Sunday lunch served in the garden.

Ingredients

• 8 chicken portions – a mixture of legs, thighs and breasts will deliver the best flavour
• 500 grams new potatoes – halve them lengthways and try to keep them even in size by cutting any very large potatoes in half widthways too.
• 2 lemons – washed and cut into wedges
• A few sprigs of rosemary – remove any very woody stems
• 1 small glass white wine
• 4 tablespoons olive oil

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C or gas 4.

Pour the olive oil into a large roasting pan and then place the chicken portions, potatoes, lemons and rosemary inside. Pour the white wine over the top and season well with a little salt and a lot of black pepper

Bake uncovered for 45-50 minutes. The ingredients should be tender and golden. Use a meat thermometer to ensure the thickest chicken portions are fully cooked.

Chilli Chicken

This recipe actually requires two ‘pots’: a frying pan to start the recipe off and a casserole to finish it.

Ingredients

• 16 boneless skinless chicken thighs
• 2 large onions, sliced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 300 grams chorizo sausage, thickly sliced
• 4 peppers, preferably red, deseeded and sliced
• 2 tins of chopped peeled tomatoes
• 3 tins red kidney beans , drained and rinsed
• Chicken stock
• ½-1 teaspoon of dried chilli flakes or one fresh jalapeno chilli, seeded and finely chopped
• 1 handful fresh oregano
• Lime juice to serve

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C or gas 4.

In a large frying pan, cook the onions in the oil for around five minutes, or until soft and translucent. Pour in the chorizo and fry until the savoury smell is strong, then add the peppers and tomatoes, around 300 ml of chick stock and the chilli and oregano. Put the chicken thighs in oiled casserole dish and pour the sauce over the top, shaking the casserole to ensure there are no air gaps around the chicken.

Cook for forty minutes, then stir the beans into the dish and cook for a further thirty minutes. To serve, stir in most of the coriander and then sprinkle the rest on the top of the served meal, with a squire of lime juice. Serve with garlic bread or rice and green salad.

Classic Chicken Casserole

This is a traditional British casserole using ingredients famous since the Middle Ages as being ‘harmonious’ or working well together to combine tastes and flavours. It’s a dish in itself, but can be served with sliced green beans to make a hearty meal.

Ingredients

• 50 grams unsalted butter
• 8 chicken portions
• 2 sliced onions
• 600 grams sliced potatoes
• 100 ml chicken stock mixed with 550 ml dry cider
• 2 bay leaves
• Powdered paprika
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme

Method

Preheat the oven to 170°C or gas 3.

Melt half the butter in a flameproof casserole. Gently fry the chicken pieces until golden and set aside. Put the rest of the butter in the casserole and fry the onions for three or four minutes, before adding the potatoes and cooking for a further five minutes.

Put the chicken pieces back in the casserole dish and stir into the vegetables. Add the blended stock and cider, the bay leaves, a pinch of paprika and the thyme. Bring gently to the boil.

Put the lid on the casserole and place it in the oven. Cook for an hour and a half, then test the chicken to see if it’s cooked. If necessary give it a further 15 – 25 minutes.