One-pot chicken with mushrooms and red wine

This dish is pure comfort. Tender chicken, moorish mushrooms and a splash (okay, more than a splash) of red wine, all bubbling away in one pot. It’s hearty, rich and satisfying — the kind of dinner that makes you want to curl up on the couch with a bowls and a glass of red.

It’s inspired by a classic Chicken Chasseur, but let’s be honest, one-pot chicken with mushrooms and red wine is a much better description of what this actually is: a warming, rustic, one-pot wonder that pretty much cooks itself while you do something far more interesting (like drinking that glass of red).

It’s a great one to make when the weather turns, unfussy but full of flavour — red wine gives it depth, the mushrooms soak up all the goodness and everything simmers down into a glossy, rich sauce.

Ingredients:

1 tsp olive oil
25g butter
4 chicken legs, skin on
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
200 g small mushrooms
225ml red wine
2 TBSP tomato purée
2 thyme sprigs
500ml chicken stock

One-pot chicken with mushrooms and red wine – let’s go:

Heat the olive oil and half of the butter in a large lidded casserole.
Season the chicken legs with salt and pepper, then fry for about 5 mins on each side until golden brown. Remove and set aside.
Melt the remaining butter in the pan, the add the onion and fry for about 5 mins until soft.
Add the garlic, cook for about 1 min, add the mushrooms, cook for 2 mins, then add the red wine.
Stir in the tomato purée, let the liquid bubble and reduce for about 5 mins, then stir in the thyme sprigs and pour over the chicken stock.
Slip the chicken legs back into the pan, cover and simmer on a low heat for about 1 hr until the chicken is very tender.
Remove the chicken legs from the pan and keep warm. Rapidly boil down the sauce for 10 mins or so until it is syrupy and the flavour has concentrated.
Put the chicken legs back into the sauce and serve.

Notes:

Step 2 can be a little messy with oil splattering out of the pan. I use a splatter screen to prevent the oil getting everywhere.
I love serving the dish with mashed potatoes and steamed vegetables such as beans or broccoli.

Original recipe: BBC Good Food

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