Creamy Leek & Chicken Bake

Ingredients

• 600 g chicken thighs, boneless, skinless, cut into chunks
• 200 ml chicken stock
• mashed potato or crusty bread, to serve
• 3 large leeks, sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 200 ml double cream
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 80 g cheddar, grated
• Dressed green salad, to serve
• Fresh parsley, to serve

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 190°C/170°C fan. Pat the chicken chunks dry and season generously with salt and black pepper — water means steam, and steam means no browning. Heat the olive oil in an ovenproof stainless or cast iron pan over medium-high heat until it shimmers.
2. Brown the chicken in two batches, in a single layer, for 4–5 minutes until deeply golden on at least two sides. Crowd the pan and the meat steams in its own juices instead of building those brown stuck bits we want for the sauce. Lift out and set aside.
3. Drop the leeks into the same pan with all that fond underneath and cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring now and then, until soft and silky but not coloured. Add the garlic and thyme and cook for 30 seconds, just until fragrant — burnt garlic turns the whole dish bitter, so watch it.
4. Pour in the stock and double cream, scraping up the brown stuck bits from the base of the pan — that's where the flavour lives. Bring to a gentle simmer, then return the chicken and any resting juices. Taste the sauce and season again with salt and pepper; adjust now, not at the table.
5. Scatter the grated cheddar evenly over the top and transfer to the oven. Bake for 25 minutes, until the top is golden and bubbling and the chicken is cooked through with no pink at the thickest chunk.
6. Spoon over mashed potato or alongside crusty bread, scatter the fresh parsley generously across each portion, and finish with a squeeze of lemon — the acid cuts through the cream and lifts everything you've just built.