Chicken, vegetable and herb cobbler

recipe

Chicken, vegetable and herb cobbler

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You can stretch any meat casserole by adding this unusual cobbler topping. Try it with pheasant or hare once the game season is here. Or, indeed, for a vegetarian main course.

Ingredients

24 pickling onions or
12 shallots, peeled
1.25/3 lbs boneless chicken, both dark and light meat, diced
2 tablespoons sunflower oil
1 tablespoon flour
1/2 bottle dry white wine
150 ml/1/4 pint chicken stock
1 bay leaf
vegetables:
prepare a selection from amongst the following, about 750 g/1 1/2 lbs in all:
green beans
small carrots
sweet corn
courgettes
small potatoes
button mushrooms
herb cobbler:
25 g/1 oz fresh parsley, chervil and oregano
1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
300 g/10 oz self-raising flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
75 g/3 oz lard or butter, chilled and diced

Preparation: 30 Cook Time: 60 Total Time: 90min

Directions

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In an ovenproof casserole, with a lid, fry the onions and chicken to a golden brown. Sprinkle on the flour, and stir it in to absorb any extra oil. Add a quarter of the wine, and bring to the boil, stirring up any residues in the pan.
Pour in the rest of the wine and stock, add the bay leaf, bring to the boil, cover, and turn down the heat.
Simmer gently for 20 minutes, and then add the vegetables, and cook for a further 20 to 30 minutes, until the vegetables are tender. Courgettes, corn kernels and mushrooms will, of course, take much less cooking and should be added towards the end.
To make the cobbler, strip the leaves from the herb stalks, and crush them with the salt in a mortar and pestle.
Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl, cut in the fat, and then rub together.
Add the herbs, and stir in enough buttermilk to bind the mixture to a soft dough. Roll out to to 2-3cm or about inch thick and cut into rounds.
Remove the lid from the casserole, arrange the scones round the top, and bake in a pre-heated oven at 180C/350F, gas mark 4, for about 15 minutes. Serve from the casserole.