Spare Veges Chicken Casserole With Puy Lentils Food

SPARE VEGES CHICKEN CASSEROLE WITH PUY LENTILS

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
• Place the lentils, bay leaf, water and crumbled stock cube in a saucepan. Heat until just boiling, then reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Drain and set aside.
• Whilst the lentils are cooking, heat 1T of the olive oil in a stove top to oven pan (like Le Creuset etc).
• Brown the chicken & remove from the pan.
• Saute the onions & garlic in the same pan until translucent. Remove from the pan.
• Add the bacon (and the extra olive oil if necessary) and brown.
• Return the chicken & onions/garlic to the pan & add the thyme, vegetables & lentils. Stir to combine.
• Add salt & pepper to taste, along with the bay leaves and stock (because I have a Le Creuset pan I don't need as much stock, however you may wish to add a little bit more during cooking).
• Cover and cook for 30 minutes.
• Make a paste with the flour & butter, and after 30 minutes whisk this through the casserole to thicken. Return to the oven and cook for another hour, or until the vegetables are just softened.
• Stir through the cream, grind over extra black pepper if necessary, and serve.

CHICKEN BAKED WITH LENTILS

Steps:

• Heat oil in a 4-quart ovenproof casserole. Add pancetta and cook on medium until golden. Remove. Season chicken with salt and pepper and add, skin side down. Sear until golden on medium-high heat, working in two shifts if necessary. Remove from pan. Heat oven to 300 degrees. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons fat from pan.
• Add onions, celery and garlic, cook on medium until soft and translucent. Stir in cumin. Add radicchio, vinegar and sage; sauté briefly. Add lentils, stock and cooked pancetta.
• Return chicken to pan, bring to a simmer, cover and place in oven. Cook about an hour, until lentils are tender and most of the liquid has been absorbed, but not all. Lentils should be saucelike but not soupy. Add a little stock if needed. Check seasoning, adding more salt and pepper if needed, then serve.