A great dinner for groups large and small …
I am one of those people who would much rather throw someone else a party than organise one for myself, and I’d always rather give presents than receive them. A cliché people-pleaser.
A few Novembers ago I threw a surprise party for my friend Lizzie. It was sandwiched between a lot of other work (bad planning on my part) and I didn’t have much time to prepare the food, so I needed something delicious but quick and easy to cook for 30 people. Still to this day, people ask me to re-make the chicken I served so, for my friends, this recipe is for you.
You can scale it up depending on how many you’re feeding and skip the searing if you’re cooking a lot. Just put everything (except the cider) into high-sided roasting trays and roast at 200°C fan for 25 minutes until the chicken is golden. Then pour in the cider, turn the oven down to 160°C and cook for a further hour or so.
You can add any extras you like too – this is a very customisable recipe. Add a few fennel seeds with the garlic, or swap the shallots for fennel or leeks. Add some cherry tomatoes and olives instead of the capers for an Italian-style version and serve with polenta, basil and lots of Parmesan. The options are endless.
If you’re making this for friends, it can happily sit in a warm oven until you’re ready to serve. @kittycoles
SLOW-COOKED CIDER CHICKEN
Serves 4
Ingredients
4 chicken legs
4 shallots or 2 brown onions, peeled and sliced into half-moons
5 cloves of garlic, peeled but kept whole
2 heaped tbsp capers
30g salted butter
3 tbsp olive oil
250ml dry cider
1/2 lemon, sliced into rounds, pips removed
A few sprigs of thyme
2 bay leaves, optional
Salt and black pepper
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 220°C.
2. Set a large ovenproof frying pan or dish over a medium heat. Season the chicken legs well with salt, then sear them skin-side down in the olive oil. Cook for 8-9 minutes – take your time and don’t be tempted to turn the heat up; you want the fat to render slowly and the skin to turn evenly golden. Once nicely browned, add the butter, turn the chicken over and cook for another 4-5 minutes. Remove it from the pan and set onto a plate.
3. Add the shallots, garlic and thyme to the pan and fry in the chicken fat for a few minutes. Pour in the cider, let it bubble and scrape up all the sticky bits from the base of the pan. Add the lemon slices and capers, then sit the chicken back on top.
4. Dot a few more small pieces of butter around the pan.
5. Put into the oven and immediately turn the temperature down to 150°C. Cook for about 1 hour, or until the chicken is falling off the bone and the shallots are soft and silky underneath. If the pan looks a little dry at any point, add another splash of cider.
6. Serve with polenta, mashed potato or even just a jacket potato.