Colm O'Gorman's healthy and hearty slow-cooked chicken casserole

This slow-cooked chicken casserole takes less than fifteen minutes to prepare, and then I just leave it in my slow cooker as I go about my day.

The holidays are behind us, and as we head into the New Year, many of us will be thinking about healthy eating after the indulgences of Christmas and New Year celebrations. 

At this time of year, I find myself hungry for warm, comforting, hearty, healthy food, but above all of course it must be delicious. 

The perfect January dish for me is also fuss free, so quick and easy to prepare is strongly favoured in my New Year kitchen.

This slow cooked chicken casserole fits the bill perfectly. It takes less than fifteen minutes to prepare, and then I just leave it in my slow cooker as I go about my day. 

Six hours later and my kitchen has been filled with fabulous aromas and I have a beautiful warming, delicious dinner ready to serve up with very little fuss.

I serve this casserole with a simple but very lovely side of mashed new potatoes. 

The potatoes are cooked in their skins in the microwave, and then mashed in a combination of butter and extra virgin olive oil. Simple and utterly delicious.

This casserole stores well and can be easily reheated, so if there are any leftovers, they can be stored in the fridge for a few days.

Slow Cooker Chicken Casserole with Mashed Potatoes

recipe by:Colm O'Gorman

This casserole stores well and can be easily reheated, so if there are any leftovers, they can be stored in the fridge for a few days.

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 15 mins

Cooking Time

 6 hours 0 mins

Total Time

 6 hours 15 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• Chicken Casserole:

• 1 large onion

• 5 cloves garlic

• 3 carrots

• 2 parsnips

• 200g green or brown lentils

• 500ml chicken stock

• 1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary

• 1 tsp dried oregano

• 1 ½ tsp smoked paprika

• 1kg chicken leg portions

• 1 lemon

• 1 tsp sea salt

• A good grind of black pepper

• 20g fresh flat leaf parsley

• Mashed New Potatoes:

• 1kg new potatoes

• 25g butter

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• Salt and pepper to season

Method

1. Peel and chop the onion. Peel and mince the garlic. Peel the carrots and the parsnips and dice them into 1cm sized pieces. I find the easiest way to do this is to top and tail the carrots, then slice them twice lengthways into quarters and then dice them into 1cm sized pieces. Do the same with the parsnips, though you will need to cut them into smaller wedges to get 1cm dice.

2. Rinse the lentils in a sieve under cold running water.

3. Put the chopped onions, garlic, the diced carrots and parsnips and the lentils into the bowl of your slow cooker. Add the chicken stock, the chopped rosemary, smoked paprika and the oregano. Season with one teaspoon of sea salt and a good grind of black pepper.

4. Stir, and then add the chicken potions. Submerge the chicken as best you can in the stock and chopped vegetables. You want the chicken portions largely covered by the stock and vegetables, but do not worry if bits of the chicken are a little above the surface, they will be fine.

5. Slow cook on low for six hours. You can leave the casserole alone for all that time, it requires no attention whatsoever.

6. About thirty minutes before you are ready to serve, prepare the mashed new potatoes.

7. Wash the potatoes and cut any bigger ones in two to give you roughly regular sized pieces. Pop them into a microwave proof bowl and cover with some cling film. I do not like to use cling film for sustainability reasons, so instead I use either a silicone stretch lid that fits the bowl, or some great elasticated stretch to fit food covers that I was gifted recently. These are reusable and look a bit like a shower cap. If you want to check them out, search online for CoverMate food covers and you should be able to find them easily enough.

8. Microwave the potatoes on full power for ten to twelve minutes, until they are all completely cooked through. Be careful when removing the cover as lots of very hot steam will have built up in the bowl. Once a knife glides through the potatoes, they are ready to mash.

9. Pop the butter for the potatoes into a saucepan over high heat. When the butter melts and starts to foam add the olive oil and turn off the heat. Drain any liquid from the potatoes and transfer those to the saucepan. Add a generous pinch of salt and a good grind of black pepper. Mash the potatoes, skins and all, until they are smooth. Taste and add more seasoning if required.

10. Once the casserole has been cooking for six hours, remove the lid and add a generous handful of chopped parsley and the zest and juice of a lemon. Stir those into the casserole, taste, and add more seasoning if required.

11. By now the chicken will be very soft and tender and falling away for the bone.

12. Warm some individual serving bowls and add a generous dollop of the mashed new potatoes. Ladle over lots of the casserole, topping each portion off with some chicken.

13. Scatter with a little more chopped fresh parsley and serve right away.