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Chicken with a crunchy Cheddar crust

Chicken with a crunchy Cheddar crust

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This cheesy chicken gratin recipe is a real winner. It takes a while to cook but makes enough for 10, so it'll do your family for at least two weekday meals. Time-saving!

Serves: 10
Prep time: 30 mins
plus chilling overnight
Cooking time: 2 hrs 45 mins
Skill level: Bit of effort
Costs: Cheap as chips

Child friendly
Freezable
Make in advance

Ingredients

You can freeze this dish for up to a month. Wrap the chicken in its dish and keep the cheese and crumbs in a freezer bag. Thaw overnight in the fridge then continue from step 4.

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2 free-range roasting chickens, around 1.3kg (3lb) each
2 bunches fresh lemon thyme
½ onion, roughly chopped
4 whole black peppercorns
1 stick celery, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
7tbsp Dijon mustard
4tbsp crème fraîche
100g (4oz) mature Cheddar, finely grated
2tbsp chopped fresh parsley
100g (4oz) fresh breadcrumbs

Method

Place the chickens side by side in a large saucepan and cover with water. Add one bunch of lemon thyme, the onion, peppercorns, celery and carrot. Bring to the boil then simmer for 1 to 1½ hours. Cool slightly before transferring chickens to a large dish.
Strain the stock into a clean pan. Bring to the boil and reduce to 750ml (1¼ pt) - this will take about an hour. Pull the chicken off the bone, discarding the skin, and put in a large gratin dish. Add any meat juices to the stock. Cover and leave in a cool place.
Stir the remaining thyme, mustard and crème fraîche into the stock. Bubble this mixture, whisking to combine before pouring Tover the chicken. Cool rapidly. One way is to put the dish in a roasting tin of ice. Cover and chill in the fridge overnight. The stock will set.
To serve, preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F, gas mark 6). Mix the cheese and parsley with the breadcrumbs and spread over the top of the chicken in a thin layer. Bake for 45 minutes or until golden brown and bubbling. Serve with a leafy salad.

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Nutritional information per portion

Calories 265(kcal)
Fat 9.0g

This nutritional information is only a guide and is based on 2,000 calories per day. For more information on eating a healthy diet, please visit the Food Standards Agency website.

Guideline Daily Amount for 2,000 calories per day are: 70g fat, 20g saturated fat, 90g sugar, 6g salt.