Poule au pot

I pot-roasted a chicken the other day and it worked so well I thought you should know about it.  I think it's because the legs poach and the breast steams.  I had some stock lying around but am certain the recipe would work without it.  In fact it can be made in a reasonable time period with items procurable from a 'Tesco Metro'. Yippee.

Poule au Pot

1 chicken, around 1.6kg.  Or an old pheasant.
1/2 savoy cabbage, shredded
6 new potatoes, halfed if large
4 slices streaky bacon, rolled and pinned with a cocktail stick (in the absence of nice fat bacon pieces)
4 cloves garlic, bruised lightly, peeled and halved into two flat pieces
A few sprigs of thyme
1 cup of stock or water
1 glass white wine
lemon juice (optional)
25g butter
1 tbsp light olive oil

In a large, lidded casserole, melt the butter with the olive oil over a medium heat and brown the seasoned chicken on all sides for 15 minutes (total).  Try not to rush this stage.  Remove.

Add the bacon, fry until coloured then remove.  Add the garlic, fry in the fat until coloured, then again remove.  Add the cabbage, season, and saute again for a couple of minutes to wilt.  Add the white wine and simmer briefly to drive off the alcohol, scraping any bits from the bottom of the casserole into the liquid.

Add back the chicken and nestle it down.  Surround with the potatoes, thyme and bacon, add the extra liquid, cover the chicken with a piece of baking parchment or tin foil to trap the steam, put the lid on the pot and simmer on the hob for 10 minutes before transferring to an oven.

Give it 1hr 20mins at 150C, or maybe longer if the chicken is bigger or old (ie. killed when it was an older bird).  Finish with the lemon juice, optional or depending on what wine you are drinking, and enjoy.