Chicken & Mushroom Ragù

• 1 kgbone-in skin-on chicken thighs
• 400 mlchicken stock
• 4garlic cloves, minced
• 400 gchestnut mushrooms, thickly sliced
• 30 gdried porcini mushrooms, soaked in 250ml boiling water for 20 minutes
• 3 tbsptomato puree
• salt and black pepper
• 2onions, finely diced
• 2sprigs fresh rosemary
• 150 mldry white wine
• 3 tbspolive oil
• 2bay leaves
• 2carrots, finely diced
• 15 gbasil leaves, torn
• 300 gdried pasta, cooked (optional)
• 50 gparmesan, finely grated (optional)

Method

1. 1Soak the dried porcini in 250 ml boiling water for 20 minutes while you chop the vegetables. Drain the rehydrated porcini through a fine sieve, reserving the soaking liquid. Roughly chop the porcini and set aside. Pat the chicken thighs completely dry with kitchen paper, season generously all over with salt and pepper.
2. 2Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large, wide casserole over a medium-high heat. Lay the thighs skin-side down in a single layer with space between them; don't crowd the pan or they'll steam instead of sear. Work in two batches if your pan is on the smaller side. Fry undisturbed for 7–8 minutes until the skin is deeply golden and crisp, then flip and brown the other side for 3 minutes. Lift out and set aside.
3. 3Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of the rendered fat. Add the remaining olive oil and fry the diced onion and diced carrot over a medium heat for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft and starting to catch gold at the edges. Add the garlic and stir for 30 seconds, just until fragrant; no more.
4. 4Turn the heat up and add the chestnut mushrooms and chopped porcini. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring now and then, until they squeak, release their liquid, and finally take on a deep mahogany colour. Don't rush this; pale mushrooms taste of nothing.
5. 5Stir in the tomato purée and cook for 2 minutes until it darkens a shade and smells jammy rather than raw. Pour in the white wine and let it bubble hard for 2 minutes, scraping the fond up from the base with a wooden spoon. Add the chicken stock and the reserved porcini liquid, stopping just before any grit settles at the bottom; the stock and wine are what break the tomato purée down into proper sauce. Drop in the rosemary and bay.
6. 6Return the chicken thighs to the pan, nestling them into the sauce so the skin sits just above the surface. Bring to a gentle simmer, partially cover, and cook on a low heat for 40 minutes, stirring once or twice, until the chicken is falling from the bone and the sauce has thickened to a glossy, spoon-coating ragù.
7. 7Lift the chicken out, discard the skin and bones, and shred the meat back into the sauce. Fish out the rosemary stems and bay. Stir well, then taste the sauce. Add salt or black pepper if needed.
8. 8If serving with the optional pasta, cook it in salted water according to the packet instructions during the final minutes of the braise. Reserve a mug of cooking water before draining, then toss the pasta with the ragù, loosening with a little of the reserved water if needed.
9. 9Spoon the ragù, with or without the optional pasta, into warm bowls. Scatter over the torn basil and add the optional Parmesan if using.

Per serving

kcal

526

protein

55.4g

fibre

4.7g

carbs

21.7g

fat

21.5g