She's No Spring Chicken! (Coq-a-Leekie Chicken)

Spring is almost upon us, in fact it's just a couple of days till the clocks shoot forward and we non 'Spring Chickens' loose an hour of our much needed beauty sleep! Still I find the milder spring weather brings a renewed vigor to daily life no matter what age you are. The daffodils are crowding the edges of the lawn, which received it's fist trim of the year this morning, and new growth is visible on the shrubs and hedgerows in the lanes. It just makes you feel that bit more full of life yourself.

The new season also sees a shift in our appetites and lighter meals are craved instinctively. We will move on from those heavy stews and heartwarming soups of the winter to foods that tend not to 'stick to the ribs' as they would say.

My coq-a-leekie chicken may be filled with lots of vegetables but with a light broth it can be enjoyed for both lunch or a main evening meal.....and you can of course use a Spring chicken!
This is another one of those wonderful one pot dishes and the 'one-pot' as we all know, is the busy families savior. The long slow cooking brings amazing flavors to the dish resulting in tender, moist meat and a delicious broth......it can also be made in a slow cooker making it even more convenient!

You will need: to feed 6 - 8 people or for a couple of meals

1.6 - 2 kg oven ready chicken
1 -2 cloves of garlic....I like the large ones because the more garlic the better!
300 g carrots
1 medium white onion
2 sticks celery
3 leeks
1 bay leaf
olive oil
sea salt, black pepper
1 glass dry white wine (optional)
enough water to practically cover the chicken

A large casserole dish with a tight fitting lid or use a slow cooker

How to:

• peel, trim, wash, all the vegetables and cut into large chunks
• place the carrots, onion, celery in the bottom of your casserole
• remove the chicken from it's wrapping...do NOT wash it! and place on top of the vegetables
• place the leeks around the chicken and put some green of leek, the bay leaf and the garlic inside the cavity of the chicken
• drizzle the chicken with a couple tablespoons of olive oil and season liberally with salt and pepper
• pour the white wine and enough cold water into the casserole to almost cover the chicken but not completely, we want the top of the chicken to brown a little
• cover with the lid and place in a pre-heated oven 150 oC for approx one and a half to two hours

When done serve it up just as it is making sure each person gets lots of veg and broth or if you feel you must you can serve with some boiled potatoes or bread to dip in the broth. You could, if you are feeling adventurous, remove the chicken from the broth, place the casserole on your cooker top and bring to the boil and cook some herb dumplings in the broth....now that would be yum!