Chicken, Leek and Tarragon Casserole

Ingredients

• 8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
• 3 leeks, in thick rounds
• 40 g butter
• 25 g plain flour
• 200 ml dry white wine
• 500 ml chicken stock
• 1 tbsp dijon mustard
• 150 g crème fraîche
• a small bunch of tarragon
• 150 g frozen peas

Method

1. Crisp the skin

   Season the thighs and brown them skin-down in the butter until deep gold, then set aside. Eight uninterrupted minutes — moving them around is why so much braised chicken skin comes out flabby.

   10 min

2. Sweat the leeks

   Cook the leeks gently in the fat until completely soft and sweet without browning. Leeks turn bitter if pushed too hard.

   10 min

3. Flour, wine, stock

   Stir in the flour and cook two minutes, then add the wine and let it bubble down by half before adding the stock. Reducing the wine first is what stops the sauce tasting sharp.

4. Braise skin-up

   Return the chicken skin-side up above the liquid and cook uncovered at 180°C for 35 minutes, adding the peas for the last five.

   35 min

5. Finish off the heat

   Lift the chicken out, stir the mustard, crème fraîche and most of the tarragon into the sauce off the heat, then return the chicken. Tarragon is strong and turns medicinal if boiled — it belongs at the end.