Chicken Stew with Lentils

I know, the title isn't particularly appealing (or at least not to me, the lentil-hater) but the dish - oh, the dish. See, this tastes so incredibly good, there's just no way you can't make it. Everyone should make it. Tonight. Yes! Reading down the ingredients list, it's really more of a winter dish, but it works fine for a chilly spring evening as well. And perhaps you'll be surprised to see the apple juice in there - but it really ties the whole thing together. Don't skimp on the lentils - buy the best you can get, preferrably small French Puy Lentils. And feel free to omit the crème fraîche if you want to, it's still very good without it.

The recipe is from a book I haven't used very much - The One-Pot and Clay-Pot Cookbook, by Jenni Shapter.

Chicken Stew with Lentils
Serves 6

350 g yellow onion
350 g leeks
250 g carrots
450 g swede (rutabaga)
2 tbsp oil
6 portion-sized chicken pieces, preferrably thighs
115 g small green or black lentils
500 ml chicken stock
100 ml concentrated apple juice
2 tsp corn starch
3 tbsp crème fraîche
2 tsp strong, coarse mustard
dried herbs - tarragon and sage are good, a pinch each
fresh oregano
salt and pepper

Prepare the vegetables - peel and cut the onion, the carrots, leeks and swede into small dice. Heat the oil in a large pot. Season the chicken with salt and pepper, and brown them in the oil. Remove.

Fry the onion gently in the same pot, until it softens slightly. Add the other vegetables and the lentils, and fry for a couple of minutes.

Put the chicken back in the pot, on top of the vegetables, and pour in the concentrated apple juice and the chicken stock. Season with a bit of salt and pepper, and a few pinches of dried herbs. Put a tight lid on the pot and let it simmer for about an hour or until the chicken and the lentils are done. You can also do this in an oven, at about 190°C.

Stir the cornstarch with 2 tbsp of water. Stir this into the pot along with the mustard and the crème fraîche. Let the stew thicken for a few minutes, and then serve, topped with fresh oregano.

Fransk kycklinggryta med linser