Chicken stew/casserole

[Summerofcontent]

How do you make your chicken stew/casserole?

I normally just cook chicken in stock with veg like carrot, swede, onion and potatoes with some dried mixed herbs. Now while this is very nice and everyone goes back for seconds it'd be nice to make something different for a change.
So what do you put in yours?

You could try wrapping the chicken in bacon/ham or including Chorizo. Perhaps reduce the amount of stock a little and add a tin on chopped tomatoes?

Chicken chasseur or coque au vin recipes will give you some ideas.

Garlic, tomatoes, roast red or yellow peppers, chorizo and chickpeas gives it a Spanish flavour.

Or try an Italian-inspired one: sofrito of diced carrot, garlic, celery and bay leaves sautéed under a lid for 45 minutes, add tinned tomatoes and red wine, then orzo (rice-shaped pasta). When cooked, add black olives and capers.

Sorry, meant to add that I always use whole limbs (generally thighs) and cook them separately in the oven beforehand - it means you can season the chicken to your tastes, it gets the fat out before it enters the stew/casserole, it gets browned so the taste changes, and it's much, much cheaper than using breast.

Stock made from white wine and tomato puree, add dried apricots and mushrooms to the chicken. A firm favourite in our house!

My favorite chicken soup has a lot of leeks, apples and mushrooms. Stock supplemented with apple juice, apple cider vinegar and a little calvados.

I brown the thighs off in the pan and then place them skin side up into a lasagne-type dish, on top of onions, carrots, mushrooms, leeks.. whatever, really. Add half a bottle of wine and some chicken stock. The pan, still hot from the chicken, can be used to fry off some roughly chopped garlic (I use quite a bit) and throw that in too.

The liquid should come up almost all the way over the chuck with just a bit of brown skin exposed.

Pop it in the oven, covered, on about 160 for 90 mins. Uncover at the end and crank the heat for some caramelised goodness. Maybe 10 mins.

Right before serving, stir in a tablespoon of crème fraîche and a handful of finely chopped flat leaf parsley.

It tastes really gourmet but it's so easy. I serve it with bread although my DH prefers mash.

These all sound good, thanks

Red wine and redcurrant jelly or cranberry sauce.

Basic chicken, veg stock as you do but I also:

Season the chicken with fennel seeds when frying it off
Add a star anise and a cinnamon stick to the sauce. Replace some of the stock with wine and add a tablespoon of tomato puree.

It gives it all a slightly sweeter, richer flavour that goes down extremely well over here

After browning the chicken and bacon I deglaze the pan with sherry - gives great richness of flavour. Then add flour to make a roux and then chicken stock, leeks, whole garlic cloves, thyme and whatever other veg leaps to mind.

I add sake/rice wine when cooking the onions.
also cubed daikon/mooli taste great in a chicken casserole as the juicy, firm texture is enjoyable and it adds a slightly sour zingy flavour.

Add a touch of Moroccan flavour with some typical spices such as cumin, cinnamon, nutmeg and paprika, or a ready mixed Moroccan spice blend, swap the swede for a few dried apricots and some almonds if you have them. Add some chopped tomato and red peppers.
Serve with cous-cous (very quick and easy) scatter some pine nuts to finish or serve with a small bowl of plain yoghurt and chopped mint.

Coq au vin with red wine, mushrooms and whole small onions is also good.

Chicken Adobo - A delicious Filipino Chicken stew made from chicken pieces cooked in soy sauce, vinegar & lots & lots of garlic.

These all sound so delicious 😋 mine is usually very plain - boneless skinless chicken thighs, leeks, bay, thyme, garlic, splash of sherry, stock, splash of cream. It’s actually the filling from bbc good food’s Next Level Chicken Pie!

Dumplings 😋