Name: Chicken agrodolce
Cook time: 100 min
Total time: 100 min
Yield: 8
Ingredients: 3 tablespoon olive oil; 6 free-range chicken thighs with; 4 boned chicken breasts with skin; 3 tablespoon standard flour mixed with ½ teaspoon salt; salt and freshly ground black pepper; 125 gram bacon lardons, or thickly sliced middle bacon, roughly chopped; 1/4 cup pine nuts; 2 sticks celery, scrubbed and sliced; 1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped; 2 clove garlic, peeled and crushed; 1/4 cup currants; 1/4 cup capers, drained; bouquet garni made with 2-3 bay leaves, a bunch of thyme, good sprig of rosemary and several thick parsley stalks, tied together

Chicken agrodolce

Chicken makes a great choice for Christmas as it is one of the more affordable meats. If you don’t normally buy free-range chicken, this is the time to spend a little bit more and get yourself a quality product. A festive flavour is brought in with pine nuts, currants and balsamic vinegar, but if your budget can’t quite stretch that far omit the nuts and use red wine vinegar in place of balsamic. There’s plenty of gravy to serve with steamed new potatoes.

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Serves 8

Cook

1H 40M

Ingredients

3 tablespoon olive oil

6 free-range chicken thighs with

4 boned chicken breasts with skin

3 tablespoon standard flour mixed with ½ teaspoon salt

salt and freshly ground black pepper

125 gram bacon lardons, or thickly sliced middle bacon, roughly chopped

1/4 cup pine nuts

2 sticks celery, scrubbed and sliced

1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped

2 clove garlic, peeled and crushed

1/4 cup currants

1/4 cup capers, drained

bouquet garni made with 2-3 bay leaves, a bunch of thyme, good sprig of rosemary and several thick parsley stalks, tied together

Method

1.Preheat oven to 180°C.

2.Heat a large ovenproof casserole dish over medium heat and add 2 tablespoons olive oil. Dust half the chicken joints with flour, or as many as will fit in the casserole without overcrowding, and add to casserole skin side down. Cook until a good golden brown, turn over chicken joints, cook for 1 minute, then transfer to a plate.

3.Season with salt and a little pepper. Repeat process with remaining chicken, reserving any unused flour.

4.Add bacon to casserole and cook until lightly golden. Add pine nuts and cook until lightly golden. Scoop out bacon and pine nuts with a slotted spoon and transfer to a plate. Lower heat under casserole; if it seems a bit dry, add a small splash of oil. Add celery and onion, cover casserole with a lid and cook gently for 7-10 minutes, until tender.

5.Stir in garlic, add currants and capers and return bacon and pine nuts to casserole. Stir in the reserved flour. Add chicken joints along with bouquet garni, positioning the chicken breasts on top of the chicken legs, and pushing the bouquet garni into the middle of everything. Pour in red wine and stock and bring to a gentle bubble.

6.Transfer to the oven and cook for 1 hour, until beautifully tender. Remove casserole from oven. Spoon over the balsamic vinegar, stir gently, then leave casserole uncovered for 20 minutes before serving. Scatter with chives, parsley and mint and serve.

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