The English-Sunday-lunch casserole.
Why you should cook this
The English-Sunday-lunch casserole. Chicken thigh, soft leeks, white wine, a splash of cream, golden flaky pastry on top. Forty minutes oven, six people fed.
What to drink with it
A glass of crisp Australian chardonnay (Yabby Lake, Giant Steps) or a Saint-Germain Spritz (our recipe). Buttered peas on the side.
Notes from the kitchen
Bone-in, skin-on chicken thigh. Stays moist through the long bake. Boneless breast goes dry. Leeks need a long soft cook. Twenty minutes on low. They should be silky, not crunchy.
The recipe
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat oven to 180°C fan-forced. Salt and pepper the chicken thighs.
- Heat oil in a large casserole or oven-safe pan. Brown the chicken on both sides, 4 minutes per side. Set aside.
- In the same pan, cook leeks and onion 15 minutes until soft and slightly golden. Add garlic, stir 30 seconds.
- Sprinkle in flour. Stir 1 minute. Add wine, scraping the bottom. Reduce by half, 3 minutes.
- Add stock, cream and tarragon. Return chicken thighs to the pan, nestled into the sauce.
- Roll the pastry sheet to fit the top of the dish. Lay it over. Brush with beaten egg. Cut 4 small slits in the top to vent steam.
- Bake 35-40 minutes until pastry is deep golden and the sauce is bubbling at the edges.
- Rest 5 minutes before serving.
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Tough chicken
Boneless breast goes dry in the long bake. Use bone-in skin-on thighs every time.
Leek crunch
Twenty minutes on low heat is not negotiable. Soft, silky leeks make this dish.
Variations worth knowing
With mushrooms
Add 200g of sliced field mushrooms after the leeks soften. Bake the same way.
Tarragon-and-cider
Replace the wine with dry cider. Earthier, slightly sweeter.
Filo top
Replace puff pastry with three sheets of buttered filo, scrunched on top. Lighter and crispier.
Leftovers and make ahead
Three days fridge. Reheat in a 180-degree oven for 20 minutes. Filling reheats better than the pastry. Cut a fresh sheet of pastry over the reheated filling for the second-day version.