This creamy one pot chicken, bacon and peas is perfect with a doorstep of bread to mop up all those juices.
I love any dish you can eat with a fork and a spoon – it means it’s chunky and (often) nourishing, but has some sort of delicious stock or sauce to slurp up. This is particularly on a dark, chilly evening.
This dish is completely inspired by French flavours. The French have been cooking lettuce for donkey’s years, and it’s a bit strange we’ve only recently picked up on this over here. Cooked lettuce is beautifully sweet – the heat must eradicate any of the bitterness that raw lettuce can sometimes have.
Wonderfully, this is a one pot dish (as you may or may not have guessed from the title) and is ready in less than 30 minutes. Why not have yours with cheese on toast (think the croutons you’d make for a French onion soup) to make this go even further.
Love one pot dishes? Try One Pot Mexican Bean Stew, One Pot Sausage, Pepper and Pea Pasta, One Pot Chicken and Green Olive Tagine or One Pot Cheesy Pesto and Spinach Pasta.
One Pot Chicken, Bacon and Peas – The Ingredients
- Smoked bacon rashers – smoky bacon gives this dish the most delicious savoury base. Don’t be tempted to switch for unsmoked.
- Chicken thighs – thighs are best for this dish because they stay moist when cooked in the sauce. You could use chicken breast, but the meat will be tougher.
- Garlic – the base of any good French dish! Use three large cloves, more if they’re small.
- Spring onions – add to the lightness in this dish. You could switch for normal brown onion.
- Chicken stock – or a litre of water and a chicken stock cube.
- Bay leaves – for that wonderful fragrance. Fresh bay leaves are best.
- Frozen peas – the little bursts of sweetness from frozen peas are absolutely divine.
- Little gem lettuces – little gem cooks nicely in this dish. Try to use this if you can get it.
- Creme fraiche – this dish is rich enough with the bacon not to need heavy cream. Creme fraiche works perfectly.
- Parsley – a big handful of fresh parsley is the perfect finish.
Top Tips
- Get ahead
This is a perfect meal for freezing. Cool completely, then put in the freezer for up to three months. Defrost thoroughly and cook through before serving.
- To serve
You could eat this by itself, with bread or cheese on toast, or even with pasta, rice or mashed potato. It’s really versatile!
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One Pot Chicken, Bacon and Peas
September 27, 2024Ingredients
- 8 rashers streaky smoked bacon roughly chopped
- 6 skinless boneless chicken thighs
- 3 cloves garlic
- 6 spring onions
- 1 litre chicken stock
- 2 bay leaves
- 200 g frozen peas
- 2 little gem lettuces
- 3 tbsps creme fraiche
- Large handful chopped parsley
Instructions
- Put a casserole dish on a medium-high heat and add the bacon. Sizzle until it is starting to crisp and the fat has run out. Scoop the bacon out and put to one side.
- Add the chicken thighs and brown for 5-6 minutes. Add the chopped garlic and chopped spring onions; stir for 30 seconds.
- Add the bacon, chicken stock and bay leaves. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Uncover; add the peas and roughly chopped lettuce, then stir in the creme fraiche. Bring back up to a simmer then stir in the parsley. Taste and season with salt and plenty of black pepper.
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