Weekend Chicken Casserole
A warming chicken casserole brings a touch of classic French cookery to the table. Even the most nervous of cooks can be quietly confident as good ingredients and the cooking time do the hard work.
One of my earliest cooking endeavours started auspiciously at Le Cordon Bleu, my mother signed me up for Le Petit Cordon Bleu, a term of Saturday morning classes. After a brief search online I am delighted to see that this still exists. Although in 2025 parents are required to attend with their children; my parents were perhaps more keen to drop me off… knowing I would learn a skill and be occupied. At the age of 10 years old I remember being given a white apron and jaunty hat as uniform. At the time the school’s location was just off Marylebone high street and I have extremely fond memories of going with my father for breakfast (scrambled eggs and toast in a local cafe) before a morning of cooking. What sticks in my memory is how at home and happy I felt in the professional kitchens, despite never having been in any such environment. Each week we would make two recipes from scratch: the three I vividly remember were scotch eggs, a quiche and a grand finale of choux pastry stuffed with vanilla cream and piped into pieces on parchment paper, which we then assembled into swans. The curriculum was certainly ambitious and left an immense impression upon me, it also gave me great confidence.
Le Cordon Bleu was a formative influence on me but also my mother, she cooked a lot using Cordon Blue Cookbooks which were produced in a series in the 1970s. The subsequent white and navy volumes were a staple in her kitchen. Now collectible online they are an encyclopaedia of recipes and knowledge for any chef. My mother who was largely self-taught in the kitchen would certainly refer to them often before attempting a new recipe as they contain the instructions for anything from a classic white sauce, to short crust pastry, to how to correctly poach a whole fish. Each volume delves into a specific theme: Cooking with Eggs, Sauces and Seasoning, Baking Volume 1 and so forth. Before Google they were a way for her to stretch her wings in the kitchen and gave her food a solid foundation in classic French cookery.
In the aftermath of her loss my sister and I gathered her recipes to collate them into our own family cookbook of memories. The Cordon Blue Cookbooks were rediscovered and proved invaluable for completing recipes where perhaps she had left out details and written instructions such as make meringue or soufflé eggs; they had almost certainly been her first place of reference. The principles of classic cookery have been a formative influence on me, for all the above reasons, but also a source of great comfort, tying me to my mother’s food influences and the food she loved to cook.
This is my version of a classic chicken casserole, it is the sort of dish I want to know how to make for my children. Comforting, nourishing and nostalgic it is a recipe that made well feels like an expression of my love through food. Even the most nervous of cooks should feel quietly confident as good ingredients and the cooking time do all the hard work. This is an ideal recipe as it provides great leftovers for quick bonus meals when rummaging through the fridge late on a Sunday evening. I think food at this time of year should also be comforting, there is still a chill in the air and only the whisper of Summer promise.
Recipe of the Week
Weekend Chicken Casserole
Planning ahead for the Easter holidays and I have been searching for recipes which work well for family gatherings. My criteria being that recipes need to be forgiving and not require my undivided attention. I call it a ‘Weekend’ Chicken Casserole as it is a recipe to throw together and savour with loved ones. Nothing is set in stone here so, if you have onions instead of leeks, or sage instead of thyme, peppers instead of carrots, don’t worry - you can substitute when and where you need to. The only non-negotiable element is a good quality organic chicken, the best quality you can get, to add depth of flavour to the finished dish. By the end of the cooking the chicken should just be falling away and the sauce deep and rich. Serve Cordon Bleu style with a scattering of parsley and rich mashed potatoes, to mop up all the wonderful juices.
Recipe serves 6 people
1 organic chicken, jointed into 8 pieces (OR 8 skin-on and bone-in organic chicken thighs)
plain flour, seasoned with salt and pepper
olive oil, for cooking
1 large leek, diced
2 carrots, diced
2 celery sticks diced
4 garlic cloves, peeled
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
500ml organic chicken stock
1 tin of organic chopped tomatoes
1 tablespoon tomato puree
Preheat the oven to 180C (fan oven). Coat the chicken pieces in the seasoned flour, shaking off any excess flour. Take a large oven proof casserole dish and add a little oil oil, fry the chicken pieces in batches until golden brown on the outside 3-4 minutes a side. Set aside on a plate. Remove any burnt flour from the pan, add more oil and add leeks, carrots and celery. Sauté for 10 minutes over a medium heat. The vegetables should be softened and starting to caramelise. Add the garlic cloves, fresh thyme, bay leaves, smoked paprika and store gently for 1-2 minutes. Next add the chicken stock, chopped tomatoes and tomato puree, bring everything up to a medium boil. Return the chicken pieces to the pan, with any resting juices. Reduce the heat a little and simmer gently for 10 minutes.
Cover the pot with a well fitting lid and place in the oven for 50 minutes. Remove the pot from the oven and carefully remove the lid - the chicken should be soft and falling from the bone, the sauce deep in colour and the vegetables melting away. Scatter with freshly chopped parsley and serve with boiled or mashed potatoes, for the ultimate plate of comfort.