Autumn Special : Poule au Pot

I feel like chicken tonight... thanks to the great Supervalu 3 for €10 offer where I stocked up on a lovely Irish chicken & some pork chops (which I will probably turn into the Saltimbocca again).

The weather is changing by the day with daylight disappearing in the evening at a frightening rate, so I decided to make Poule au Pot - a fancy French phrase for a pot-roasted chicken casserole.  It's tremendously easy to make and as it's a one pot meal, there's very little washing up for The Hubs - I'm so kind to him!

This is the pot...

Poule au Pot

1 Chicken, about 1.5kg
2 tsp Olive Oil
100ml White Wine or Dry Vermouth
2 Carrots, peeled & cut into batons
2 sticks Celery, cut into batons
3-4 Leeks, cut into 5cm lengths
Bouquet Garni (or whatever herbs you like)
Salt & Pepper
1 litre Water

Put the chicken on a chopping board, breast side down & give it a good push until you hear a crack (yes, I know it's vile, but the chicken fits into the pot better...).

Heat the olive oil in your casserole dish (make sure it has a lid) and brown on both sides.
Turn up the heat, add the wine or vermouth and allow the liquid to reduce slightly.

Now add your vegetables and seasoning.  Add enough water to make sure the chicken is barely covered and allow to come to a rolling simmer.

Turn the heat right down (move to a smaller burner if necessary), put the lid on and let it cook away for 90 minutes.  At this stage, the chicken should fall away from the bone easily, and if so, it's ready.  Turn off the heat and let it sit for 30 minutes before serving.

For dinner, we had the chicken and the veg with a heap of roasted gnocchi (25 mins in a very hot oven with a drizzle of olive oil).  The leftovers will make a gorgeous soup for lunch tomorrow and I'll freeze whatever is left.

Taken with the extra-crappy camera on my iPhone... sorry!