CIDER BRAISED CHICKEN WITH APPLES AND CAVOLO NERO

PLUS APPLE AND CHICORY SALAD WITH FENNEL SEED DRESSING AND SMOKED PANCETTA

Good morning and happy Friday!

A very comforting recipe for you this week and the kind of thing I love to cook when people come over mainly because once the prep is done you just leave it in the oven for two hours whilst you shake up martinis and eat crisps.

CIDER BRAISED CHICKEN WITH APPLES AND CAVOLO NERO PLUS AN APPLE AND CHICORY SALAD WITH FENNEL SEED DRESSING AND SMOKED PANCETTA

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I have been eating a lot of apples recently. Apple crumble (including this particularly good rum and raisin one), apples and peanut butter (childish but good), apples and pecorino (an elite snack), apple pie (coming soon), apple salads (more below) and this CIDER BRAISED CHICKEN WITH APPLES AND CAVOLO NERO.

Until recently I hadn’t really cooked with apples in a savoury way (apart from apple sauce) but I ordered a box of apples with a vegetable order and did not realise that when they said box they meant crate!

The idea for the recipe came from a chicken cacciatore I ate in Rome. This slow-cooked stew is usually made with tomatoes, peppers and summer-ripe veg cooked gentle with either chicken or rabbit until the meat is melt in the mouth tender. But this one was made with white wine, LOTS of garlic and rosemary. An Autumn edition and very good, with meat that fell off the bone and a stocky thick sauce that was full of flavour.

I wanted to try my own version at home with cider and originally planned on doing it with rabbit but it turns out rabbits are not so easy to find in London butchers (even the very good ones) unless you preorder weeks in advance so I went with chicken.

The apples made sense, apples and cider etc plus I had a LOT of apples and so that was how it came together. The first test just worked (very rarely does it happen but it is BRILLIANT when it does) and I have now made this twice for friends. A fresh salad on the side is a good idea as are some buttery potatoes.

If you’re new here, scroll down to find the written recipe and scroll ALL the way down for the printable PDF where you’ll also find some MUSIC TO COOK TO. This one is for paid subscribers. If that’s you already, thank you!! Your support goes right back into my work developing recipes, shooting videos, and writing about all of it.

THE RECIPES

CIDER BRAISED CHICKEN WITH APPLES & CAVOLO NERO