Creamy chicken & pumpkin

Lovely and creamy and with pumpkin (if you are a lover of this vegetable) this is a dish you will enjoy.

Ingredients

20g pack dried porcini

1 free-range chicken, about 1½ kg/3lb 5oz, jointed into 8 pieces

(ask your butcher to do this for you)

1 lemon, halved

2 tbsp olive oil

25g unsalted butter

1 small onion, finely chopped

300g/10oz pumpkin, peeled, seeded and cut into 2cm cubes

200g chestnut mushrooms, roughly chopped

284ml carton double cream

Method

Soak porcini in 300ml/1⁄2 pt hot water for 30 mins. Skin chicken and rub the cut side of the lemon over them. Heat oil in a pan large enough to hold chicken in one layer. Add chicken and brown on both sides. Transfer to a casserole.

Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Melt the butter in a medium pan. When it stops foaming, add onion and 1 tsp salt, then sauté until pale gold.

Meanwhile, remove the porcini from the water and rinse well. Pat dry and chop small. Strain the water through a sieve, stopping before the last spoonful.

Add porcini and pumpkin pieces to onion and sauté for 5 mins. Add fresh mushrooms and cook for 5 mins more, stirring frequently. Stir in the cream, 4-5 tbsp of the porcini water and seasoning if you wish. Simmer uncovered for 10-12 mins until reduced slightly, then pour over the chicken.

Cover and cook in the oven for 30-40 mins, turning the chicken once or twice and adding a few spoonfuls of water if the sauce becomes a little dry.