Description
Chicken Casserole with smoked bacon, button mushrooms, carrots and leeks topped with light and fluffy mashed potato dumplings.
Ingredients
- 350 grams Maris Piper Or Other Floury Potatoes, Peeled
- Oil, As Needed For Cooking
- 8 pieces Chicken Thighs
- 4 slices Rindless Smoked Streaky Bacon
- 2 whole Medium Onions, Sliced
- 2 sticks Celery, Thinly Sliced
- 150 grams Button Mushrooms, Washed And Halved
- 400 grams Canned Tomatoes
- 600 milliliters Chicken Stock
- 1 whole Bay Leaf
- 1 sprig Thyme
- 375 grams Carrots, Peeled And Chopped Into 1.5cm Slices
- 1 Tablespoon Cornflour
- 2 teaspoons Cold Water
- 2 whole Leeks, Chopped Into 2cm Slices
- Sea Salt And Black Pepper To Taste
- FOR THE DUMPLINGS:
- 250 grams Self-raising Flour Plus Extra For Rolling
- 1 teaspoon Fine Sea Salt
- 100 grams Cold Butter, Chopped Into Small Cubes
- 125 milliliters Full-fat Milk, Plus Extra For Brushing
Preparation
Boil potatoes in a saucepan with cold water until they are very soft. Drain potatoes and mash them. You can use a potato masher or a potato ricer. Leave to cool.
Heat oil in a casserole dish over a medium heat. Fry chicken with salt and pepper to taste, until slightly browned. I cooked the chicken in two batches in the same dish. Transfer to a plate. Preheat oven to 200ºC (400ºF).
Fry bacon, onion, celery in the same pan for about 4–5 minutes until lightly browned. Add mushrooms and cook for another minute.
Put chicken in the casserole pan. Add tomatoes, chicken stock, bay leaf, thyme and carrots. Bring to a simmer on the stove, cover with a lid and cook in the oven for 30 minutes.
While the chicken is in the oven, make the dumplings. Put flour and salt in a large bowl and rub in the butter until mixture looks like breadcrumbs. Add 250 grams of cold mashed potatoes and rub together with the butter and flour.
Mix with milk to make a dough. Turn dough out onto a surface and roll into a thick sausage. Cut into 12 rounds.
Take the chicken out of the oven and season to taste with salt and pepper. (For me, it is delicious already without the dumplings!) Mix cornflour and water and stir into the casserole. Add leeks and stir until mixed in.
Top casserole with potato dumplings. Brush with a little milk and season with a little black pepper and sea salt. Cook it in the oven without a lid for another 30 minutes until dumplings turn golden brown.
