Chicken casserole with herby dumplings
2 casseroles for bonfire night one chicken and one beef
Ingredients
12 skinless chickenpieces - a mixture of thighs and drumsticks on the bone, and halved chicken breasts
3 tbsp plain flour
2 tbsp sunflower oil
2 onion, sliced
2 carrot, diced
200g bacon lardon, smoked or unsmoked, or streaky rashers, snipped
3 bay leaf
3 sprigs thyme
bottle of cheap red wine
3 tbsp tomato paste
1 chicken stock cube
For the herby dumplings
140g cold butter, diced
250g self-raising flour
2 tbsp chopped mixed herb - try parsley, thyme and sage or chives
Method
Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Toss the chicken pieces with the flour and some salt and pepper, to coat them – it’s easy to do this in a plastic food bag.
Heat the oil in a casserole with a lid. Brown the chicken pieces well on all sides – you’ll need to do this in batches. Remove all the pieces to a plate, and tip the onions, carrot, lardons, bay and thyme into the pan. Cook gently for 10 mins until the onion is softened.
Return the chicken pieces, with any juices that have collected on the plate. Then pour in the red wine and tomato paste and crumble in the stock cube. Add a splash of water if you need, until the chicken is almost covered. Bring to the boil, then cover with a lid and bake in the oven for 20 mins. Remove the lid and bake for another 10 mins while you make the dumplings.
Rub the butter into the flour with your fingertips until it feels like fine breadcrumbs. Stir in the herbs with ½ tsp salt and some pepper. Drizzle over 150ml water, and stir in quickly with a cutlery knife to form a light dough. Use floured hands to shape into ping pong sized balls.
Place the dumplings on top of the stew and bake for 20 mins more until the dumplings are cooked through.
Carbonnade flamande
Ingredients
1¼kg stewing beef, cut into 4cm cubes
400ml Trappist ale such as Leffe or Chimay, or other dark ale
3 garlic clove, lightly crushed
2 bay leaf
3 tbsp plain flour, seasoned with salt and pepper
2-3 tbsp olive oil
250g diced pancetta
2 carrot, sliced
2 onion, sliced
1 leek, sliced
1 tbsp tomato purée
350ml beef stock
1 bouquet garni (a small bunch of thyme, parsley stalks, a bay leaf and about 6 peppercorns tied in muslin)
a handful of parsley, chopped
Method
Marinate the beef overnight in the ale with the garlic and bay leaves. The next day, drain the beef from the marinade, reserving the marinade. Pat the meat dry with kitchen paper and toss it in the seasoned flour until evenly coated. Shake off any excess flour.
Heat 2 tbsp of the olive oil in a large flameproof casserole until hot. Fry the beef in 3-4 batches for about 5 minutes per batch, stirring occasionally, until it is a rich golden brown all over. You may need to add a little more oil between batches but make sure it is hot again before adding the next batch. Remove the meat with a slotted spoon to a plate and set aside. Don’t worry if the bottom of the casserole is starting to brown, this all adds to the flavour of the finished dish.
Lower the heat to medium and fry the pancetta in the casserole for 6-8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until crisp and golden. Scoop the pancetta out with a slotted spoon and set aside with the beef.
Preheat the oven to fan 140C/conventional 160C/gas 3. Tip the carrots, onions and leek into the casserole and fry, stirring occasionally, until they start to brown – this takes about 12 minutes. Spoon in the tomato purée and continue to cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
Add the beef and pour in the reserved marinade. Bring to a simmer, scraping any sticky bits off the bottom of the pan, then add all the beef stock and bouquet garni to the casserole. Season with salt and pepper and bring everything to the boil. Remove from the heat. Cover with a lid and cook in the oven for 2 hours, stirring once halfway through. (The carbonnade may now be left to cool and frozen for up to 1 month. Add 100ml/31⁄2 fl oz more stock to the sauce when reheating.) When the beef is ready, taste for seasoning and add more salt and pepper if you think it needs it. Scatter the chopped parsley over the top and serve straight from the casserole, with creamy mash or jacket potatoes and buttered greens or cabbage.