A delicious casserole is the hallmark of a winter-warmer recipe, but perfecting this requires a knack.
An expert in all things home cooking, Mary Berry has divulged the recipe she uses on chilly evenings.
First debuted in her book 'Mary Berry: Love to Cook', the British baking icon described the casserole as "an all-in-one dish that is really easy to cook and serve".
It even comes with clever cooking tips to take your casserole-making abilities to the next level.
Mary elaborated that her suggestion to use fresh sage over dried herbs is well worth trying, seeing as sage is easy to find fresh or grow at home. She added a bonus tip that brings together the essence of this one-pot dish.
Ingredients
- 250g/9oz dry-cured bacon, snipped into small pieces
- Two large onions, chopped
- Eight chicken thighs, skin removed and bone in
- Two tbsp sunflower oil, plus extra if needed
- 30g/1oz plain flour
- 150ml/5fl oz chicken stock
- 150ml/5fl oz dry white wine
- Two large thyme sprigs
- Small bunch sage, six leaves reserved for garnish
- Two bay leaves
- 200g/7oz small chestnut mushrooms quartered
- 100g/3½oz full-fat crème fraîche
- A knob of butter
- Small bunch flatleaf parsley, chopped
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Start by cooking the bacon. Place the chopped meat in a large, non-stick, ovenproof frying pan or flameproof casserole and fry over medium heat for a few minutes to render the fat.
Add the chopped onions and fry until the bacon is brown at the edges. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the pan's contents to a plate and set aside.
Now prepare the chicken by lightly seasoning it with salt and pepper. Mary says there's no need to wash the pan between the stages of cooking; in fact, she advocates keeping it "unwashed" to keep the flavour.
Place the oil in the unwashed pan, add the chicken, and brown it over high heat, turning once. Transfer it to the plate with the bacon and onions.
Preheat the oven to 160C/140C Fan/Gas 3 for the next step of the recipe.
Add the wine to the casserole dish and return the bacon, onions and chicken. Stir everything well, and add the thyme, sage, and bay leaves.
Mary says the sauce will be "quite thick" by this point. Bring everything to the boil, season well with salt and pepper and cover. Transfer to the oven for 30 minutes.
Scatter the flour into the pan, add more oil if needed, and stir to combine. Gradually incorporate the stock, whisking continuously and allow it to thicken.
Remove the pan from the oven and add the mushrooms and crème fraîche. Stir everything well and return to the oven for 15-20 minutes until the chicken is tender.
Meanwhile, heat the butter in a small frying pan over medium heat. Add the reserved sage leaves and fry until crisp to ensure maximum flavour.
Remove the bay leaves, thyme and sage sprigs from the casserole and discard (some leaves will have fallen off to flavour the casserole). Stir in the parsley and serve with the crisp sage leaves on top.
