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Ingredients

  • 1 stick celery, halved
  • 3 sprigs thyme
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 1 large chicken, about 2kg
  • ½ a bottle white wine
  • 8 shallots, peeled and halved
  • 3 cloves
  • 4 small carrots, peeled and sliced
  • 2 leeks, cleaned and sliced
  • 750g peeled new potatoes, halved if large
  • 200g self-raising flour
  • 100g (pre-prepared suet is fine) suet

stuffing

  • 200g pork mince or sausage meat
  • 100g thick-cut bacon, diced
  • 3-4 chicken livers, chopped (optional)
  • a few leaves sage, chopped
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 6 shallots, diced
  • a bunch flat-leaf parsley, chopped
  • 2 big handfuls fresh breadcrumbs

Method

  • STEP 1

    Tie the celery together with the thyme and the bay leaves to make a bouquet garni.

  • STEP 2

    Heat the oven to 190c/fan 170c/gas 5. To make the stuffing, put all the ingredients into a bowl and mix together really well.

  • STEP 3

    Trim the chicken cavity of any excess fat and fill with the stuffing. close up and secure with a couple of skewers. Put the chicken in a large casserole dish. Add the wine, water, shallots, bouquet garni, cloves and seasoning. Cover and cook for 1 hour.

  • STEP 4

    Add the carrots, leeks and potatoes to the pot and put back in the oven for an hour.

  • STEP 5

    Combine the flour, suet and seasoning. Add in enough cold water to make a firm but pliable dough. Divide into 12 dumplings.

  • STEP 6

    Remove the casserole from the oven. Carefully move the chicken to a plate, cover with foil and keep warm. Add the dumplings to the pot, replace the lid and put back in the oven for 20-25 minutes until the dumplings are cooked. To serve, take the skin off the chicken and remove the meat from the bones.

  • STEP 7

    Divide the chicken, stuffing, veg and dumplings between warmed bowls. Spoon over some of the cooking juice and serve.

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