how to thicken a chicken casserole ...

[MissWooWoo]

...except I've got it in a soup pan on top of the stove, not in the oven.

What can I thicken it up with without it going "gluey" (which is what happens if I add cornflour)

It's basically chicken thighs, onion, carrot, celery, swede, stock cubes, herbs and water.

chicken bisto granules

Could you remove all the bits and reduce it down alot by boiling? Or take all the bits out and cook up lentils in it?

You've tried cornflour mixed in with water? Adding a raw potato is supposed to absorb some of the fluid.

could add a potato couldn't I? If I grated it would it thicken without leaving bits of straggly potato, ie would the potato "dissolve"?

not sure dd would eat lentils

You need to dissolve the cornflour in cold water first and then add it very gradually giving it chance to thicken before adding more. It only goes gluey if you add too much.

gah! don't have potato

have got green lentils {whispers} in a tin so could add those last minute - quite fancy that idea, arse to dd

aha! so that's the deal with cornflour, always mix with cold water first but think I must add too quickly and too much

i thought you were meant to add it whole and take it out again, but when i googled it adding mash came up as a suggestion quite a few times, as did someone's gravy granules suggestion.

handful of rice?

have only got beef gravy granules at the moment so that's out. No potato but will remember the mash thing for another time

dd doesn't eat anything rice

plain flour, mixed with an equal quantity of butter and whisked in a little bit at a time

Chucking in a couple of handfuls of pearl barley works or a beurre marnie (?sp) which is basically mixing some butter and flour into a paste and slowly stirring into the casserole, less likely to go gluey than cornflour IME.

bit low on butter (damn this wintry weather!) and definately no pearl barley so think I'll go for the reducing down and mixing in some lentils

thanks all

You could grate some bread in.

FimbleHobbs is this a tried and tested technique? I have a thing about soggy bread, besides which I only have a few slices of wholemeal left and 2 white pittas (again, damn this winter weather) and need to leave that for emergencies

casserole update: having taken the skins and bones off of thighs (chicken's not mine) about an hour ago and taking lid of pot casserole has reduced down a fair bit - think some of the veg has disintegrated. Think all I need to do is add in the lentils when I reheat later. Looks like a slow simmer for 2 hours, followed by a rapid boil for 20mins has given me near enough what I wanted.

thanks for all the advice

p.s. I am still in my cardigown