My Easy Italian Chicken has spoonfuls of lip smacking flavour

With four children at the recovery end of ear and throat infections and feeling under the weather myself, I was in need of a dinner that fits into an effortless eating category. Something that can be prepared in one pot, then served up and scooped from the comfort of a bowl. The type of food that warms the insides. A meal that is nourishing, appeals to everyone and requires minimal effort to prepare. My Easy Italian Chicken does all of this.

I usually make this dish using free-range or organic chicken drumsticks because the flavour of meat cooked on the bone is superb and all my little ones enjoy munching their way through the succulent herb infused meat. This evening I substituted plump, pink chicken breasts because that’s what I had in the meat drawer in my fridge. You can also use chicken thighs or even tenderloins. This dish has a rustic feel to it and so it lends itself to a certain amount of substitution of ingredients. It will never win accolades for appearance, but it is a champion when it comes to flavour and “eat-ability”. 

My Easy Italian Chicken to serve 8 people 
You can reduce all the quantities if cooking for a smaller number of people. I like to serve this dish with steamed rice that has a small amount of butter forked through just before serving. When feeling energetic, I also add a big bowl of crisp iceberg lettuce and lemon steamed broccoli. 

Ingredients
Olive oil
25 g unsalted butter
1 large onion – white or Spanish finely diced
4 small cloves garlic finely diced
4 medium carrots cut into 2 cm pieces
1 fennel bulb, including the green fronds cut into 2 cm pieces
1 cup button mushrooms sliced into quarters
1 heaped teaspoon sea salt
1.5 kg chicken breasts cut into 3 – 4 cm pieces
1 tablespoon plain flour
1 teaspoon dried Italian herbs
50 g tomato paste
500 ml chicken stock salt reduced

Preheat the oven to 160 degrees fan forced setting. 

Melt the butter with the olive oil in a heavy oven proof pot (I used my Le Creuset) over a medium heat. Add all of the vegetables with the sea salt and sauté for 10 minutes until the colours deepen and the veggies look glossy. 

Add the chicken to the pot (there is no need to remove the veggies) and stir until the meat starts to turn white. 

Add the plain flour and herbs and stir for another minute to cook off the floury flavour. Pour in the chicken stock. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed, then bring briefly to the boil, clamp on the lid and place in the oven. 

After 30 minutes, remove the lid and continue to cook in the oven for another 15 minutes until the liquid has thickened up slightly and the top of the chicken that pokes out of this lovely sauce is golden brown. 

Ladle over steamed rice in deep bowls, pop in a spoon and call the kids to the table.