Chicken and Leek Gratin
This is one of my most popular recipes, and one of the stars of my TV show The Free Range Cook: Simple Pleasures. I’ve given a classic leek and chicken bake a fabulous update by marinating the chicken in cayenne, mustard and worcestershire sauce. It’s a useful dish to make in advance and keep in the fridge until you’re ready to pop it in the oven.
- Prep time:
- 20 mins
- Cook time:
- 1 1/4 hrs
- Serves:
- 6
- 3 tbsp butter
- 4 leeks, thinly sliced
- salt and ground black pepper
- 12 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 2 tsp dijon mustard
- 2 tbsp worcestershire sauce
- ½ tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp thyme leaves
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ cup cream or chicken stock / broth
- 1 recipe Provençal Crust
Heat butter in a heavy pan, add leeks and season with salt and pepper. Cook over low heat, stirring now and then, until softened and no longer bright green (about 15 minutes).
While the leeks are cooking, place chicken in a bowl with mustard, worcestershire sauce, cayenne, thyme and salt and stir to combine. Allow to sit for 10 minutes while the leeks cook.
Remove cooked leeks from heat and mix in cream or chicken stock / broth. Spread evenly in the base of a large, shallow baking dish. Arrange chicken thighs on top then cover with Provençal Crust. The gratin can be prepared in advance to this stage and chilled for several hours until needed.
When ready to cook, preheat oven to 180°C / 350˚F. Bake until chicken is fully cooked through and crumbs are golden (about 1 hour).
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