This was originally a recipe from Matthew Evans but the steps in his original recipe were a bit awkward/difficult so I decided to change it a little bit, adjusting it to be a bit more flavourful (at least according to me). This is also my first time using sage … and I decided I didn’t like sage. It had a funky smell that left me feeling queasy in my stomach – to the point that I was contemplating not putting it into the casserole at all when I was preparing it. But having bought a bunch of it already, I decided I should at least give it a go. Thankfully the sage wasn’t overpowering and the casserole was a success!
Serves 6 (2 pieces each)
Prep time 10 mins
Cook time 15 mins stove top + 1 hour cooking in oven
Ingredients
1 tbsp olive oil
12 chicken lovely legs (can also be thighs, as long as they are on the bone)
1/4 cup of flour, for coating
30g butter (I used a low fat one)
400ml dry white wine (I used Wolf Blass Eaglehawk Riesling, reserve the rest to drink with dinner)
300g button mushrooms, whole
2 chicken stock cubes
2 leeks, chopped
15 sage leaves, bruised
Preheat oven to 150C.
Lightly coat the chicken in the flour. Heat up the olive oil in a large pan and brown the chicken on both sides until golden brown and set aside.
In a large pot (preferably in a casserole pot that can be used on your stove top), heat the butter on medium and melt. When starting to bubble, add the leeks, stirring frequently so that it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot since the butter creates a drier base than oil.
When the leeks have softened (but not brown), add the white wine, stock cubes, chicken, and sage. Season with salt and pepper and bring to a simmer.
Transfer to a casserole pot, if not already in one. Cover and cook for 1 hour. The chicken should fall off the bone. Serve with bread.