"I cooked these meaty Carlow chicken legs into a simple, forgiving, rich oven casserole with red wine, onions and tomatoes and gave them a final boost from one of Ardkeen’s super choice of relishes and chutneys. You could easily cut the legs into thighs and drumsticks to make this go a little further than one leg per person as they are BIG! It’s also the perfect dish to make ahead, freeze and reheat as it’s even better when the flavours are left to develop. Make it into a hearty, handy one-pot supper by adding tinned chickpeas or beans and heating them through with the dish for 15 minutes before serving."
Ingredients
- 4 Carlow free-range chicken legs
- 2 onions, chopped finely
- Olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped finely
- 1 tin plum tomatoes
- A squirt of tomato puree
- A tablespoon or so of relish or chutney (Tastefully Yours Pepper relish, or African Baobab chili jam)
- 500ml red wine
- Salt and pepper
Method
-
Remove the chicken legs from the fridge 20 minutes before cooking.
-
Pre heat the oven to 180C.
-
Heat the oil in a heavy based casserole dish and brown the onions, garlic and chicken legs together.
-
Deglaze with the red wine, stir well to unstick all the tasty bits on the bottom of the pan. Add the tomatoes, the tomato paste and enough water (or chicken stock) to half fill the casserole.
-
Season lightly and bring to the boil.
-
Put the lid on and pop in the oven for 1 hour 30/ 2 hours or longer if you prefer.
-
The sauce should be thick and the meat falling off the bone.
-
Add the relish or chutney to the casserole and check the seasoning just before serving with polenta, mashed potato or sweet potato, pasta or rice.
Photography by Marta Miklinska. Food Styling by Trish Deseine.
