Chicken in Red Wine with Raisins
We all have to save money these days. Chicken thighs are so much cheaper than Chicken breast, and far more tasty. Combine this with a marinade and you have a dish fit for a king! The following ingredients can be swapped for whatever you may have at the bottom of your fridge. I included finely chopped Leek and mushrooms from the bottom of the fridge to make this dish a money spinner. You could add carrots or fennel.
You will need
- 1/2 pint leftover red wine
- 3 large tablespoons of red wine vinegar
- 4 0z. of no-soak apricots
- 2 ounces of sultanas
- A tsp of ground ginger, and a tsp. of ground cinnamon
- half inch of fresh root ginger, peeled and grated
- 4 cloves, 4 pieces of dried cranberry
- 6 large chicken thighs – chopped into pieces
- 2 tablespoons of flour, + seasoning
- Large knob of butter + a tablespoon of oil
- 1/2 pint of chicken stock
- Finely chop 2 medium size leeks and finely chop a handful of mushrooms
What to do
Make a Marinade in a non metallic dish with the following:-
Wine, vinegar, raisins, apricots, ground ginger, cinnamon, fresh ginger, cloves and dried cranberry.
Add the chicken pieces and leave for 4 hours, or overnight if you can. When you are ready to cook – Turn on your hob and keeping the lid down, turn the dial to no. 8 (remember, it is not advisable to leave the lid down for longer than 15 mins and your green light has gone out.) Set your digital temperature in your roasting oven to simmering (130 degrees)
Remove the chicken from the marinade, and pat the pieces dry with kitchen paper. Season the flour with salt and pepper and coat the chicken pieces.
Cooking on your hob, heat the oil and butter in a flameproof casserole dish and add the finely chopped leeks and mushrooms and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring to prevent overcooking. Lift out to set aside and then add the chicken pieces to brown each side, and again lift the chicken out with a slotted spoon and set aside.
Pour the marinade and stock into your casserole dish and heat up to boiling on you hob. Return the chicken, leek and mushroom mixture and boil for 2-3 minutes.
Now put your lid on your casserole dish and transfer all to the simmering oven (which you have set to 130 degrees) and leave for one and a half hours. If you have too much sauce, lift the chicken mixture out and rapidly boil the sauce to reduce it. This will intensify the flavour of the sauce. Served with boiled rice, this dish is DELICIOUS!!
