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Pot-roast chicken in cider

Pot-roast chicken in cider

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This is old-fashioned country cooking - all the flavour is in the quality of the ingredients, but without adding any fat.

Cooking time: 2 hrs 15 mins
Serves: 6
Costs: Cheap as chips

Ingredients

If you don't want to use cider, cook the chicken in the same quantity of apple juice or a mixture of the two, or use chicken stock. For the most flavour and best supply of nutrients, buy the best chicken you can afford.

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1.5 kg (3lb) whole free-range chicken
2 onions, peeled and each cut into 8/12 wedges
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
2 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
2 thyme sprigs, plus extra for garnish
2 bay leaves
Half a lemon, juice only
330ml cider bottle
2 leeks, trimmed, washed and thickly sliced
150g (5oz) sugar snap peas
15g (1/2 oz) butter, melted, optional
1tbsp cornflour or chicken gravy granules

Method

Squeeze the lemon juice over the chicken, rub it in well and then season to taste. In a large, heavy-based casserole, make a bed of the onions, carrots, garlic and herbs. Place the chicken, breast down, in the pot and pour the cider over the top. Cover and place over a medium heat. As soon as the juices begin to boil, after about 5 mins, turn down the heat and leave to cook gently, without disturbing it, for 30 mins.
Carefully turn the chicken over so the breast is up. Tuck the white part of the leeks around, cover again and cook for an hour until the juices run clear when the thigh of the chicken is pierced with a knife. Add the green part of the leeks and sugar snap peas for the last 10 mins of cooking.
If you have an oven with an inbuilt grill, brown the chicken at the end of cooking by brushing the top with 15g (1/2oz) melted butter and grill for 3-4 mins.
Lift out the chicken onto a serving plate, tipping any juices back into the casserole. Let the chicken rest in a warm place for 5-10 mins. Spoon the vegetables out into a serving dish using a draining spoon. Bring the cooking juices to the boil, remove the herbs, and thicken with cornflour or gravy granules.
Cut the chicken into portions and arrange in hot individual dishes with a portion of the vegetables. Garnish with thyme and serve with the sauce.

Top tip: If you don't want to use cider, cook the chicken in the same quantity of apple juice or a mixture of the two, or use chicken stock. For the most flavour and best supply of nutrients, buy the best chicken you can afford. Per portion: 393 calories; 23g fat (6.7g of which saturated) This recipe is taken from the new Hearty and Healthy Dairy Cookbook, £9.25 plus £2 P&P. To order your copy please call 01536 762922, speak to your milkman or visit www.dairydiary.co.uk

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