Chicken with Lentils and Rosemary

It's April Showers week at I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC), dishes to enjoy on rainy days. 

I made Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's, Chicken with Lentils and Rosemary. Accordingly to him, this is an easy one-pot supper for a cold night. Well, our cold nights here are usually our rainy nights, though not necessarily cold on rainy nights. Warm shower nights? 😄

I was reading through his recipe, and thought how easy it is! Cook in one pot! With only a few ingredients. How tasty can it be? 

To cook this dish, using an oven safe pot, saute sliced onion in some oil till softens, about 6 to 8 minutes, then add chopped garlic, rosemary, salt and pepper. Stir for a further 5 minutes or so, then stir in the red lentils and stock. Season the chicken pieces with some salt and pepper, then place them skin side up, on top of the  lentils mixture, and place the pot in the preheated oven, uncovered, for about 1 hour until the chicken is cooked through and the skin has browned.

I baked the dish for 1 hour 15 minutes, the last five minutes with the broiler on, just to brown the skin a little more. The chicken is moist, tender and so delicious ! The red lentils turned yellow upon cooking, became soft, mushy and so tasty. We had this dish with rice and some stir-fry french beans. We really enjoyed this dish! There were no leftovers!  So delicious! Yum! 

Coincidentally, it started to rain when we had this at dinner time. I did not see that coming, as it was blasting hot and humid the whole day! 

Chicken with Lentils and Rosemary
(River Cottage Light & Easy, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall)
serves 4
2 tablespoons rapeseed or olive oil
1 large onion, sliced
4 garlic cloves, chopped
leaves from 2 sprigs of rosemary
200gm red lentils, well rinsed
500ml chicken or veg stock
8 skin-on, bone-in, free-range chicken thighs, or 1 medium chicken, (about 1.75kg), 
    jointed into 6-8 pieces
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
flat-leaf parsely, chopped, to finish

Preheat the oven to 180C/Gas 4. Choose a flameproof casserole dish or a wide, ovenproof pan that will hold all the chicken pieces snugly but comfortably.

Put the casserole on a medium-low heat. Add the oil, then the onion and cook, stirring regularly, for 6-8 minutes until it begins to soften. Add the garlic, rosemary and some salt and pepper. Cook gently for a further 5 minutes, then stir in the lentils and stock.

Season the chicken thighs and place skin side up in the casserole. You want most of the chicken skin to remain exposed above the liquid in the dish so it can brown in the oven. Bring to a simmer on the hob, then transfer to the oven and bake, uncovered, for 1 hour. Check that the chicken is cooked through and the lentils are soft. If not, return to the oven for 10-15 minutes and test again. Skim off any excess fat from the surface.

Taste the lentilly liquor and add more salt or pepper if needed. Serve, scattered with chopped parsley, just as it is or with steamed broccoli or spring greens on the side.

This post is linked to :
I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC)
Cookbook Countdown #40