Creamy Chicken Hotpot

 

MUNCH RATING: 4/5

 

This recipe is from an old issue of Waitrose magazine and you can find the original recipe on the Waitrose website.

 

CHANGES TO THE RECIPE:

I’ve made it quite a few times now, but I’ve adapted it as I found the pearl barley took quite a long time to cook. So I give it a head start by cooking it in the stock whilst I prepare all the other ingredients (de-bone the chicken, cut up the squash and leeks). I prefer to use crème fraîche rather than cream cheese as I find it a bit too tangy. I’ve also decreased the quantities for some of the ingredients so it will comfortably feed 2 if served on its own, or 4 people if served with something like mash.

 

TASTE TEST:

I really like this dish as I love butternut squash and the chicken is really tender. The pearl barley releases starch which thickens the sauce and the crème fraîche/cream cheese gives a lovely creaminess.

 

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 500g chicken thigh meat (roughly 4 large thighs)
• 2 tbsp plain flour
• 500g butternut squash (about ½ of a large one), peeled, deseeded and cut into chunks
• 1 large leek, washed and thickly sliced
• 750ml hot chicken stock (I used 3 teaspoons of Knorr Chicken Stock granules)
• 75g pearl barley
• 2 heaped Tablespoons ½ fat crème fraîche

 

Directions:

1. Place the pearl barley in a small saucepan with the hot stock and simmer whilst you prepare the other ingredients.
2. Heat the oil in a large pan. Cut each chicken thigh fillet into 4, dust in the flour and brown in the hot oil for 4-5 minutes. Add the squash and leeks, and cook for a further 2-3 minutes.
3. Pour in the hot stock and the parboiled barley. Bring to the boil, then cover and simmer for about 10 minutes. Remove the lid and simmer for another 10 minutes until the sauce has reduced slightly, the chicken is cooked and the barley is tender.
4. Stir in the crème fraîche and mix until melted.

Roast honey and cumin chicken

MUNCH RATING: 1/5

This recipe is from one of those cards you can pick up free from Waitrose. I was really looking forward to making it as I liked the sound of the honey and cumin. The photo on the card made the chicken and potatoes look really crispy and caramelised, so I thought it would be a really tasty dish. It’s also a one-pot dinner, so I thought it would be quick and easy. But it didn’t quite turn out that way!

Basically the liquid that you have to add doesn’t get absorbed by the potatoes or evaporate, so they don’t get nice and crispy. So after the recommended cooking time I drained off the liquid, took the chicken out of the oven to stop it overcooking and then put the potatoes back in the oven at top whack to crisp up a bit. I left them in for 30 minutes as I couldn’t wait any longer! I started cooking at 5.45pm and it wasn’t ready until 7.30pm – the recipe says it only takes 50-60 minutes!

So the method for this recipe was rubbish and to be honest, it was pretty bland too. The honey and cumin was a nice combination, but it lacked punch. Steve said he preferred my garlic roast chicken which is just something I throw together!

I found the recipe on the Waitrose website and it seems everyone else thought this recipe was fantastic! I’m not sure what they’re doing differently, but this isn’t a recipe I’ll be making again!

• Serves: 4
• Oven temperature: Gas mark 7/425°F/220°C
• Prep time: 15 minutes
• Cooking time: 50 minutes to 1 hour (yeah right!)

Ingredients:

• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1 Tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 2 Tablespoons honey
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 4 chicken legs or thighs, scored
• 700g new potatoes, quartered
• 2 small red onions, quarter (I only had a brown onion)

Directions:

1. Mix together the oil, honey, cumin, garlic and vinegar with seasoning. Pour over the chicken pieces and leave to marinate for 15 minutes (longer if you have time). Whilst the chicken is marinating, preheat the oven to 220ºC, gas mark 7
2. Remove the chicken from the marinade, pour the marinade into a large roasting tin and add the potatoes and onions so that the pieces are in a single layer without much space between them. Pour over 150ml cold water and roast in the oven for 20 minutes.
3. Add the chicken pieces and toss in the juices. Return to the oven for 35–40 minutes, basting regularly, until the chicken is cooked through, and there is no pink meat. Serve with watercress, rocket and spinach salad or steamed green beans.