French,  Savoury

Navarin of chicken


I know that, strictly speaking, this should be navarin of lamb. I did briefly hover over the lamb counter, but before I’m ever able to pass from hover to purchase so many images of sweet, fluffy new-born lambs dancing in the long spring grass come to mind that I just can’t do it. Mind you, now that we have hens and I see them living their free-range lives, chicken will no doubt be off the menu soon too!
From an idealistic perspective I should probably be a vegetarian, but I remain entrenched in my conviction that we are meant to eat at least a small amount of meat. I’ve also seen too many miserable-looking vegetarians for it to be an attractive proposition; why is it that they so often look grey and dour?
The term ‘navarin’ is really a reference to the vegetable content of the dish and not the meat, so here is my Navarin for Sensitives Souls:
Ingredients (serves 4)
4 chicken wings and 4 legs
4 spring onions
10 baby carrots
4 baby leaks
6 new potatoes
4 baby turnips
1 courgette
cup of peas
olive oil
seasoning (salt, pepper, chicken stock)
bay leaf, rosemary, fresh mint
2 glasses of dry white wine
Slice the onions and gently brown in a casserole dish in the olive oil. Add the chicken pieces and seasoning and brown gently for a couple of minutes. Add the wine, chicken stock and herbs. Bring to a gentle simmer and add the carrots, leaks, turnips and potatoes. Place in a preheated oven (180°C) for an hour and then add the peas and sliced courgettes, making sure that the liquid level in the dish is still at least 3cms. Cook for a further 20 minutes and add the fresh chopped mint just before serving.

5 Comments

  • Menopausalmother

    I’m with you–can’t bring myself to cook with lamb yet. My daughter is a vegetarian, so she is constantly reminding me where my beef and poultry comes from! I had to chuckle when I read this recipe—when I got to the part, “2 glasses of dry white wine”, I was certain you were going to say to put 1 glass in the chicken dish and then drink the other while you cooked!

    • Claudia

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    • Alejandro

      I love that you love your chickens. I call mine zibmoe-demons-from-hell. My sister has some backyard chickens. Actually, they belong to her 15 year old son. He is fascinated with chickens, asked for (and got) an incubator for Christmas last year and is now in business of incubating chicks for others and selling eggs. They had a chicken hatch last spring that was the most people friendly bird. They called her Lucy. She loved hanging out with them, sitting on their laps etc. We helped them cull their roosters last summer when they discovered their voices (she lives in a suburban neighborhood) and low and behold, Lucy, no longer having any competition, discovered she was actually a he. She quickly turned from sweet loving hen to loud, obnoxious, mean, territorial rooster. My sister couldn’t go into her backyard without being attacked. They no longer called her Lucy. They felt Lucifer was more fitting. Believe it or not, Lucifer still rules the roost in that backyard.

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