Fed up with your usual Friday night fare? Here's a useful recipe for a one-pot, no-muss no-fuss, recipe which would be equally delicious with #duck legs.
This is a great #recipe that is quick to prepare and packed full of protein. Lentils are a low #GI food and because of the #fibre will help you feel fuller for longer. An added benefit is that it is all cooked in one pot!
I have specified a Le Creuset saucepan in the recipe as I was lucky enough to be gifted a set when I got married; they are a great investment but there are often other brands of cast iron pans that are just as good, available as #Sainsbury own brand and in stores like #Homesense. I bought a #Tesco Go Cook flat casserole for £45 which is approximately £150.00 cheaper and equally as good but without the brand name! These pans are amazing and with care will last a lifetime, but they are extremely heavy so if you have problems lifting or a bad back use whatever you have. I would say that if you are going to use a foil dish for easy clean-up, place it inside a heavy roasting tin of the same size as it will conduct and keep the heat in better and will not scorch.
I have specified Savoy #cabbage but if you find washing and de-bugging its crinkly leaves to be too much of a chore then replace it with regular green cabbage that will be easier to clean.
Ingredients:
4 chicken leg or duck leg quarters
4 tablespoons olive oil, not necessary for the duck
2 medium onions chopped finely
4-6 celery stalks chopped finely
2 large carrots chopped finely
300g raw #Puy lentils
100ml red wine vinegar
1 savoy cabbage cut into 6-8 wedges
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
salt and pepper
800ml boiling water.
1 large Le Creuset pan or similar oven proof pan that will hold the legs in a single layer.
Method: Pre-heat the oven to 200c (180c fan) gas mark 5-6. Heat two tablespoons of the oil in the casserole pan over a medium heat and season and brown the chicken legs well all over. Remove from the pan and set aside. If you are using duck legs omit the oil and brown them slowly over a low light to render off as much as the fat as you can. Strain the duck fat through a coffee filter paper and refrigerate it to help make the most delicious crunchy roast potatoes. Add the onion, celery and carrot to the pan and reduce the heat- for speed I often chop them all together in a food processor, pulsing them in short bursts until they are chopped as finely as I require. Sweat them gently for about 10-12 minutes until the onions are translucent. Increase the heat and stir through the lentils and vinegar. Once most of the vinegar has evaporated add 800 ml boiling water to the pan and stir. Sit the cabbage wedges in the lentils and place the chicken legs on top. Cover and put the casserole in the oven and cook for approximately 45 minutes until the chicken is cooked through uncovering for the last 15-20 minutes. The duck legs will take about 1 hour and 15 minutes and will need uncovering after 50 minutes. Transfer the chicken and cabbage wedges to a plate, blend the remaining olive oil and mustard together and stir through the lentils. Check the seasoning adding more salt and pepper as necessary. divide the lentils and cabbage between 4 deep plates and top with the #chicken.