JamieOliver.com

chicken, wild mushroom and lovage hotpot

main courses | serves 4
1 Place the potatoes in a deep pot, cover with cold, salted water and bring to the boil. Simmer gently until just tender, then gently remove and leave to cool. When cold, cut into slices just under 1cm thick. Brush dirt off the mushrooms (or dunk in cold water, then dry in a salad spinner) and set aside. Pull the skin off the chicken legs and reserve it, then cut off the meat, dice it roughly and set aside.
2 To make the stock, pop the bones in a small saucepan with 1 onion, 3 celery sticks and 2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped. Add just enough cold water to cover and bring to the boil. Simmer gently for an hour, skimming as necessary, then pass through a fine sieve and set aside.
3 Preheat the oven to 200°C/gas 6. Put the chicken skin in a wide sauté or frying pan over a medium heat, let the fat melt out of the skin, then discard the skin. Add the chicken to the hot fat, season lightly with salt and black pepper, and stir until lightly browned. Finely chop the remaining onion, celery and garlic, add to the pan and sweat for 1–2 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook until the moisture has evaporated, then stir in the flour. Add a few spoonfuls of the stock and stir. The stock should thicken into a gravy, coating the filling nicely. If it’s a bit thick, add more stock. Simmer for a few minutes until fragrant, check seasoning, and stir in the chopped lovage and nutmeg.
4 Spoon the filling into a shallow pie dish or skillet and top with the sliced potatoes. Brush with melted butter, season and bake for 30 minutes until crisp and golden on top, and hot through. Serve with cavolo nero.


Recipe by Pete Begg, Photography by David Loftus
• from Jamie Magazine issue 1