Slow-braised Garlic Chicken

Method

1 Preheat the oven to 180ºC (160ºC fan) mark 4. Heat 1tbsp oil in a frying pan and fry the mushrooms and the thyme until all the excess moisture has evaporated and the mixture is quite dry. Season and leave to cool.

2 Loosen the skin away from one chicken leg and spoon a little of the mushroom paste underneath. Season the leg all over, then wrap three pancetta slices around the thigh end. Repeat with remaining chicken legs, then dust using 1tbsp flour.

3 Melt the butter with the remaining 1tbsp olive oil in a frying pan. Keeping the heat high, fry the chicken legs, in batches of two, seam side down, until golden. Turn the legs, brown the other side, then transfer to a deep, ovenproof, lidded pot. The browning process should take a good 8–10min per batch.

4 Next, brown the shallots and garlic in the same frying pan. Sprinkle over the remaining fl our and cook for 1min. Pour in the wine. Bring to the boil, stirring, and add to the chicken with the bay leaves. Cover and cook in the oven for 11/2hr.

Cook's tip
For a neat, less rustic chicken leg, ask the butcher to remove the bone from the thigh. Stuff the mushroom mix inside and wrap the pancetta around the end.

Get ahead...
Make the recipe to the end of step 4. Cool quickly, then freeze in an airtight container for up to a month. To serve, thaw overnight at cool room temperature. Preheat the oven to 220ºC (200ºC fan) mark 7. Return chicken to the ovenproof pot and reheat in the oven for 15min. Reduce oven temperature to 180ºC (160ºC fan) mark 4 and cook for a further 25min.

And... To reduce fat content do not eat chicken skin