Chicken with tarragon, corn and vermouth

Name: Chicken with tarragon, corn and vermouth
Cook time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 700g chicken thigh meat, off the bone and cut into big chunks; 2 large onions, peeled and sliced; 25g unsalted butter; 420g tin sweetcorn; 100ml vermouth; 1 tbsp plain flour; 3 tsp dried tarragon; 125ml double cream; 3 tsp Worcestershire sauce; 3 tsp Tabasco sauce; salt to taste; 1/2 batch; 1 egg, beaten; 

October 14, 2014

Polenta lends a nice hue and flavour to this retro chicken pie.William Meppem

Time:1-2 hoursServes:6

A very 1970s (and utterly delicious) late supper dish, this can be made ahead and assembled from the fridge. Either bake it topped with corn-flecked rough puff latticed across, or cook in a saucepan and serve with hot buttered toast.

Ingredients

700g chicken thigh meat, off the bone and cut into big chunks
2 large onions, peeled and sliced
25g unsalted butter
420g tin sweetcorn
100ml vermouth
1 tbsp plain flour
3 tsp dried tarragon
125ml double cream
3 tsp Worcestershire sauce
3 tsp Tabasco sauce
salt to taste
1/2 batch corn-flecked rough puff pastry
1 egg, beaten

Method

1. Have the chicken ready in a bowl.
2. Preheat oven to 180C or 160C fan-forced.
3. Place the onions and butter in a saucepan with about 75 millilitres of water and a teaspoon of salt, put the lid on and cook on a high heat for about 10 minutes until the onions soften and the water evaporates. Stir often. Adjust the heat towards the end to keep the onions pale.
4. In a blender, puree half the corn and the liquid from the tin with the vermouth and flour until smooth, then add to the pan with the tarragon and boil until thickened. Remove from the heat and stir in the cream, Worcestershire and Tabasco sauces, and a touch more salt to taste.
4. Stir in the raw chicken and spoon into a deep three-litre baking dish.
5. Top with a lattice of rough-puff pastry, brush pastry with beaten egg and bake for about 45 minutes, until the pastry is puffed and golden and the chicken is piping hot and cooked through. Alternatively, you could cook the chicken in the saucepan and serve with hot buttered toast.