Chef Thomas
Beef and Ale Stew
Braising steak surrendered to dark ale and slow time, with onions and mushrooms, until the gravy turns thick and malty and the kitchen smells like the kind of evening you want to stay in for.
Culinary Explorer
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Chicken and Leek Casserole
Created by Chef Thomas
Chicken thighs braised with leeks and mushrooms in a gentle, creamy sauce scented with thyme and mustard. The kind of dish that makes an ordinary weeknight feel like it was worth coming home for.
Soups & Stews
British
Weeknight
Comfort Food
20 min
Active Time
1 hr cook•1 hr 20 min total
Yield4 servings
The leeks at the market last Saturday were fat and heavy, mud still clinging to the roots. The kind you have to peel back a layer or two to get to the clean, pale heart. I bought four, which was too many for one person, but I knew what I was going to do with them before I'd paid.
This is an autumn casserole, really, or early winter. It needs the weather to have turned. It needs the kind of evening where you close the curtains before six and the kitchen becomes the warmest room in the house. Chicken thighs, because they forgive a bit of time in the oven and reward you with flavour that breast meat simply can't match. Leeks, because when they're braised slowly they go from something sturdy to something almost silky. Mushrooms for earthiness. Cream because it pulls the whole thing together into a sauce you'll want to eat with a spoon.
Wales claims the leek, but every kitchen in Britain has claimed this dish. Fair enough. It belongs wherever someone is standing at the stove on a cold Tuesday, making something quiet and good for the people at the table. We're only making dinner. But dinner, made properly, made with care, is no small thing.
I wrote it down in the notebook last week. Chicken, leeks, cream, thyme. Rain against the window. Enough.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
Quantity
6-8
leeks
Quantity
3 large
trimmed and sliced into thick rounds
chestnut mushrooms
Quantity
250g
halved or quartered depending on size
garlic
Quantity
2 cloves
sliced thinly
butter
Quantity
a generous knob
olive oil
Quantity
1 tablespoon
dry white wine
Quantity
150ml
chicken stock
Quantity
300ml
double cream
Quantity
150ml
thyme
Quantity
a few sprigs
bay leaf
Quantity
1
Dijon mustard
Quantity
1 tablespoon
fine sea salt
Quantity
to taste
black pepper
Quantity
to taste
flat-leaf parsley (optional)
Quantity
small handful
roughly chopped
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs | 6-8 |
| leekstrimmed and sliced into thick rounds | 3 large |
| chestnut mushroomshalved or quartered depending on size | 250g |
| garlicsliced thinly | 2 cloves |
| butter | a generous knob |
| olive oil | 1 tablespoon |
| dry white wine | 150ml |
| chicken stock | 300ml |
| double cream | 150ml |
| thyme | a few sprigs |
| bay leaf | 1 |
| Dijon mustard | 1 tablespoon |
| fine sea salt | to taste |
| black pepper | to taste |
| flat-leaf parsley (optional)roughly chopped | small handful |
Equipment Needed
- •Wide, heavy casserole dish with a lid (cast iron or enamelled)
- •Wooden spoon
- •Oven set to 180C/160C fan
Instructions
- 1
Brown the chicken
Season the chicken thighs generously with salt and pepper. Get a wide, heavy casserole dish over a medium-high heat with the oil. When it shimmers, lay the thighs in skin-side down and leave them alone. Don't move them. Don't peek. After seven or eight minutes the skin will have gone deep golden and crisp and will release from the pan without a fight. Turn them over, give the other side three or four minutes, then lift them out onto a plate. They don't need to be cooked through. They're going back in later.
If you crowd the pan, the skin will steam instead of crisping. Work in two batches if your dish isn't wide enough. The extra five minutes is worth it. - 2
Soften leeks and mushrooms
Turn the heat down to medium. Pour away most of the fat but keep a tablespoon or so in the pan. Add the butter. When it foams, tip in the mushrooms and let them sit for a few minutes until they take on some colour, golden at the edges, slightly shrunken. Then add the leeks and the garlic. Stir everything through the butter and the pan juices. The leeks will start to soften and turn silky within five minutes. You want them tender but not collapsed. They should still have a bit of body.
Wash the leeks well. Slice them, drop them into a bowl of cold water, swish them about, and lift them out. The grit sinks, the leeks float. A sandy casserole is a sad thing. - 3
Build the sauce
Pour in the wine and let it bubble for a minute or two, scraping up anything stuck to the bottom of the pan. That's flavour, not mess. Add the stock, the thyme, and the bay leaf. Stir in the mustard. It won't taste of mustard in the finished dish; it just adds a warmth and a quiet depth that holds everything together. Bring to a gentle simmer.
- 4
Return chicken and braise
Nestle the chicken thighs back into the dish, skin-side up, so the skin stays above the liquid. If it sinks, it loses its crispness, which would be a waste of the work you did earlier. Put the lid on, slightly ajar to let steam escape, and slide the whole thing into the oven at 180C/160C fan. Leave it for forty minutes. The chicken will finish cooking through, the leeks will melt into the sauce, and the kitchen will start to smell the way a kitchen should smell on a cold evening.
If you want the skin to crisp up further, take the lid off for the last ten minutes. Keep an eye on it. You want golden, not scorched. - 5
Finish and serve
Lift the dish out of the oven. Remove the thyme sprigs and bay leaf. Stir the cream through the sauce gently, working around the chicken. Taste the sauce. Season again if it needs it, and it probably will. A little more salt, a grind of pepper. Scatter the parsley over the top, if you have it. Bring the whole dish to the table. Serve it with mashed potatoes or good bread to mop up the sauce. There are few better feelings than putting something like this in front of someone on a Tuesday night.
Chef Tips
- •Chicken thighs, not breasts. I'll say it as many times as it takes. Thighs have more fat, more connective tissue, and more flavour. They braise beautifully where breast meat dries out and turns to string. Bone-in and skin-on is worth the small extra effort.
- •The wine isn't optional, but the type doesn't much matter. Whatever you'd drink a glass of while cooking. If you wouldn't drink it, don't cook with it. If you don't have wine, a splash of dry vermouth works, or skip it entirely and add a squeeze of lemon at the end for brightness.
- •This reheats well the next day, and arguably improves. The sauce thickens as it sits. Add a splash of stock when reheating to loosen it. The skin won't be crisp anymore, but you'll forgive it.
- •If you want to make this without the chicken, double the mushrooms and add a tin of butter beans in the last ten minutes. It becomes a different dish, but a good one. No apology needed.
Advance Preparation
- •The chicken can be browned and the sauce assembled up to a day ahead. Refrigerate before the oven stage, then bring to room temperature and braise as directed, adding five minutes to the cooking time.
- •Leftovers keep in the fridge for up to three days. Reheat gently on the hob with a splash of stock to thin the sauce.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 400g)
Calories
820 calories
Total Fat
61 g
Saturated Fat
25 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
35 g
Cholesterol
295 mg
Sodium
800 mg
Total Carbohydrates
23 g
Dietary Fiber
3 g
Sugars
8 g
Protein
42 g
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