Recipe - chicken cider stew (a stew with a difference)

I cannot understate how lovely this tastes. For those who are immediately dubious, the alcohol in the cider is removed by the cooking process, and all that is left is a warming sweet tint on the flavour of the stew.

What do I need?

Kitchen Stuff:

- Very large pan for the stew... biggest you've got
- sharp knife
- potato peeler

Ingredients:

- 3-4 carrots
- 3 small red onions
- 2-3 leeks
- 2-3 lean chicken breasts
- 4-5 potatoes, or 10 or so baby new potatoes (lovely when in season)
- 2 sweet potatoes
- anything else you want to add eg celery, swede (seasonal veg)
- mushroom ketchup (vital! I don't like mushrooms but this is crucial)
- worcester source
- chicken/veg stockcube (about apint of stock)
- normal can of cider
- acouple of bayleaves
- mixed herbs, thyme etc
- dijon/wholegrain mustard

(Serves 5 to 6 - I usually freeze about 4-5 portions)

Preparation time about half an hour, cooking time at least one hour

Step 1 -- Peel and chop!

This is by far the most time-consuming part of the process. Once this is done you're sorted. Chop everything into roughly the same size chunks, rough as you like. Doesn't really matter - if you're having the baby new potatoes then half those and use that size as your estimate. Dice the chicken fairly small.

Step 2 -- Add everything to the pan

Says it all really... add the veg and meat to the pan and give it a mix with a wooden spoon to try and distribute it evenly. Add about a teaspoon of mustard to the stock - I use half a teaspoon of dijon and half of wholegrain. Stir it until mixed up with the stock. Tip in the whole can of cider, and the pint or so of stock. Add acouple of tablespoons of mushroom ketchup and worcester sauce, the bayleaves and the other herbs.

Then fill the pan until the water comes just above the veg. Give it a stir, to the bottom if you can. Don't worry if the pan is pretty full by this point. I generally have only about half an inch of room by then end - but it will all reduce down. Just means you need to pay alittle more attention on the next step.

Step 3 -- Bring to the boil

Put a lid on the pan and bring it to the boil. If it's full careful to watch it doesn't boil over. Once it's come to the boil, remove the lid, give it another stir and then turn it down low to simmer. Leave it simmering for at least an hour, stirring every so often. The lid should remain off. It should have reduced by about a third by that point.

Step 4 -- The taste test!

Give the liquid a taste. If it's too weak then keep simmering until you've got it to the strength you like. You can eat it immediately - and it tastes very good with a chunk of thick bread.

You can leave it in the pan overnight, and bring it to the boil for a nice lunch. I always find though that it tastes better the day after though, when all the juices of the meat and the veg have had a change to mix together. I would always split it into freezer bags after that point though, and it keeps very well.