This is a very good winter recipe, especially good in the long run up to Christmas as the raisins and cinnamon echo the mince pies and mulled wine that abound just then. But it’s good all winter, warming and welcoming.
It’s based on the winning recipe submitted to a Guardian competition about a decade ago by a lady called Betty Bee.
I serve it with a carrot, coriander and baby gem salad, dressed with a very generous amount of a garlic-tahini-yoghurt dressing; and rice.
For the best way to cook basmati rice, follow this link.
Christmasy chicken with a raisin and vermouth sauce
Serves – 4
Ingredients
- 750g/1 lb 12 oz/ 8 chicken thighs
- 1 banana shallot
- 120 ml/½ cup dry vermouth
- 240 ml/1 cup chicken stock
- 100g/⅔ cup raisins
- 1 cinnamon stick (you only need half, but put the other half in the rice while it cooks.
- 50g/2 oz butter
- 1 tbsp flour
- 2 tbsps water
- Freshly ground black pepper; or a sprinkling of Urfa pepper flakes
- Olive oil
Instructions
- Soak the raisins in the vermouth for as long as you can. Overnight is ideal, but it doesn’t matter if you can’t do it all.
- Heat a glug of olive oil in a deep frying pan and brown the thighs, on a fairly high heat, on all sides.
- Meanwhile peel and chop the shallot. Once the thighs have taken on some colour, reduce the heat, and add the shallot to the pan. Continue cooking until the shallot is transparent and everything is cooked through.
- Add the stock, the vermouth, the raisins, and half the cinnamon stick. Cover the pan (ideally with a lid, but if you can’t find one that fits just use foil). Continue to braise gently for about fifteen minutes.
- Mix the flour with the water to create a paste.
- Remove the meat and keep warm (you can use the foil that you used to cover the pan to hold the meat – folding it over to create a seal and keep in the juices if you like).
- Cut the butter into dice and whisk in (either with a balloon whisk or a cappuccino whisk). Then whisk in the flour paste. Grind over the pepper. Taste. Adjust the seasoning if necessary. If it looks a bit too thick, add more stock or vermouth.
- Serve the sauce over the chicken thighs.
