Farmhouse chicken casserole

My dad loves to go to flea markets. Whenever the weather is alright and he has some time off, he visits one or another. On Sundays there are often at least two or three he goes to. He has a great eye for making money out of things others regard as trash. He buys something very cheap and sells it - after consulting websites such as Ebay - for a lot more.


After all these years he still brings home little things for decorating. My mum isn't too happy with the eclectic style of our living room. She likes it more sober, but yeah ... he can't be convinced about that.


Another thing he does when going to these flea markets, is bringing home fruit and vegetables. There are always a few farmers who sell their goods. The best strawberries come from their fields. 


This Sunday he brought spring onions and potatoes. As I was going to prepare chicken drumsticks - once bought for the barbecue but never used due to rainy weather, and put in the freezer for later - I thought I could just as well combine them with the onions and potatoes.


The result: farmhouse chicken casserole, or my adaptation of a British dish.

Ingredients for 4:

- 1 or 2 drumsticks per person (I had provençale marinated legs, which worked well)

- 8 small potatoes that won't fall apart during cooking

- 4 spring onions

- 3 large carrots

- 1/3 cube vegetable stock

- 1/2 l water

- black pepper

- Maizena express

- fresh parsley

- 100 grams flour

- olive oil or butter

How to:

Wash the potatoes and cut them in half. Don't peel them, so that they will keep their taste better. Clean the sping onions and cut off the excess greens. Peel the carrots and cut them in half. 

Roll the drumsticks in the flour. They have to be covered with it all over. 

Heat a pan and melt the butter or olive oil. Fry the drumsticks in it. They don't have to be cooked through, they just have to get a little crust outside. 

In the same pan, fry the potatoes and the vegetables lightly. They don't have to be cooked through either.

Now take a casserole that's quite large. Put all the vegetables, potatoes and the chicken in it. Grind black pepper over it to taste. Don't add salt because the stock is salty too.

Dissolve the stock in the water and pour it over the casserole. 

Cover it with foil or a lid.

Put it in the oven and let it simmer for at least 1 and a half hour at 230°C. 

The vegetables should be just tender but shouldn't fall apart. The chicken should fall off the bone when touched. 

Take out all the thning out off the casserole so that only the fluid remains. Add the Maizena express, stir well and put all things back in the casserole.

Don't cover it now, so that it can grill for a few minutes.

Ready to serve with parsley sprinkled on top of it!