Nigella Lawson - Dutch Oven Casseroles

Cider chicken casserole
Nigella Lawson
Ingredients

1 teaspoon vegetable oil
5 ounces (1/2 cup) cubed pancetta (Italian cubetti di pancetta) or lardons, or 10 slices bacon, chopped
12 chicken thighs (bone in, with or without skin), preferably organic
1 leek, cleaned, quartered lengthwise then thinly sliced
1 celery stalk, quartered lengthwise then thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
2 teaspoons freeze-dried tarragon
1 teaspoon kosher salt or 1/2 teaspoon table salt
Good grinding white pepper
2 cups dry hard cider
2 cups frozen petits pois or peas
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 small romaine lettuce heart, cut into strips or roughly shredded
2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon

Preparation

Heat the oil in a large, wide Dutch oven that comes with a lid (and can be taken to the table) and add the cubed pancetta (or lardons or bacon), cooking them until they begin to give off their juices and start to color.

Add the chicken thighs (skin-side down if yours have skin), tossing the cubes of pancetta on top of the meat (to stop the pancetta burning and to make space) as you put the poultry in the pan, and cook for about 5 minutes over medium heat.

Turn the thighs over and tip in the prepared leek, celery, and garlic. Season with the dried tarragon, salt, and pepper, then stir everything around a bit, letting it cook for another 5 minutes.

Pour in the cider, then sprinkle in the frozen peas. Bring the pan to a boil, then cover, turn down to a very gentle heat, and cook for 40 minutes. Do check after 30, though, to see if the chicken is cooked through, and if you are disobeying me and going boneless, then 20 minutes should do it.

Remove the lid, stir in the mustard, and then toss the shredded lettuce over the chicken, letting it wilt in the hot sauce for a couple of minutes.

Scatter the chopped tarragon over the dish and take the steamily fragrant pan to the table with quiet pride.

Beer-braised beef casserole
Nigella Lawson
Ingredients

1 tablespoon duck or goose fat or oil of your choice
8 ounces (1/2 cup) smoked lardons, cubed pancetta, or 16 slices smoked bacon, snipped
4 onions, chopped
2 teaspoons dried allspice
2 teaspoons dried thyme
3 1/4 pounds boneless beef shank, in approx. 2 inch cubes
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups beef broth (canned, carton or cube is fine), preferably organic
4 teaspoons grainy mustard
3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
2 cups dark Belgian ale, or English dark ale
4 bay leaves
1 teaspoon kosher salt or 1/2 teaspoon table salt
Good grinding pepper

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.

Get out a large, heavy-bottomed Dutch oven and, on the stove over a medium to high heat, melt 1 tablespoon fat, or warm 1 tablespoon oil. Add the lardons or bacon pieces and cook, stirring frequently, for 5 to 10 minutes, till they've crisped up a bit.

Add the chopped onion, stirring well so that they're mixed into the bits of bacon, and turn down the heat to low and cook — stirring every now and again — for 10 minutes, by which time the onions will have softened.

Stir in the allspice and thyme and then tumble in the cubed beef shank and, for ease, with a pair of spatulas or suchlike, toss and turn the meat in the pan.

Shake in the flour and stir to mix as best you can.

Pour the broth into a large pitcher and stir in the mustard and sugar and then add the ale (if it will fit) before pouring this over the stew in the pan.

Stir to mix, then let come to a boil, add the bay leaves and salt and a good grinding of pepper, then clamp on the lid and stagger to the oven with the heavy pan.

Cook gently for 3 hours until the meat is fork tender, and — if you can bear it — let cool, uncovered, before covering and refrigerating, then leaving it to bring joy to another day. Still, it's fabulous enough the day it's cooked and patience is an overrated virtue.

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