Slow Cooker Chicken Casserole with Mashed Potatoes
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.
SERVES
4
PEOPLE
PREP TIME
15
MINUTES
COOKING TIME
360
MINUTES
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
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.
Rinse the lentils in a sieve under cold running water.
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.
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.
Slow cook on low for six hours. You can leave the casserole alone for all that time, it requires no attention whatsoever.
About thirty minutes before you are ready to serve, prepare the mashed new potatoes.
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.
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.
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.
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.
By now the chicken will be very soft and tender and falling away for the bone.
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.
Scatter with a little more chopped fresh parsley and serve right away.
