Phil Vickery's five-step chicken and bacon hotpot
It’s warming, cheap and most importantly, just takes a matter of minutes to make - Phil Vickery’s back in the kitchen with his chicken and bacon hotpot, the perfect dish for a cold Tuesday evening.
Chicken and bacon hotpot
Serves 4
Ingredients
2-3 tbsp oil800g boneless, skinless chicken thighs100g cubed pancetta or bacon lardons2 small onions, peeled and roughly chopped2 medium carrots, peeled and roughly chopped1 small leek, finely chopped and washed really well1 small swede, peeled and roughly chopped3-4 tbsp flour600mls boiling water2 chicken stock cubes2 tbsp chopped fresh thyme3 large potatoes, peeled and sliced in ½ cm pieces blanched in boiling water for 3-4 minutes3-4 tbsp melted butter, roughly½ tsp pepper
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 190° Gas mark 4
2. Heat the oil in a 25cm x 12cm deep saucepan then add the chicken and bacon lardons, brown really well - this will take a few minutes, then remove.
4. Next add the vegetables and stir well, add the flour to soak up any excess fat from the meat then add the boiling water and sprinkle in the stock cube and the thyme.
5. Spoon out half the vegetables into a bowl. Top the other half of vegetables with the chicken, then spoon the rest of the vegetables back on top to cover.
6. Lay the par-boiled potato slices over the chicken and vegetables overlapping slightly, and press down. Glaze with butter then dust well with pepper.
7. Place into the pre-heated oven and cook for about 40 minutes or until potatoes are golden brown and serve