One stove chicken thighs with cider cream sauce, potatoes & peas

Michael @ChefCampers is association with Camper Buyer

One-Stove Chicken Thighs with Cider Cream Sauce,
Potatoes & Peas

A proper restaurant-style campsite dish cooked on a single stove. Crispy chicken thighs, potatoes cooked in the chicken fat, local cider, cream, mustard and peas.

Serves: 2 Cooking time: 35–45 minutes Kit needed: Large frying pan or sauté pan

Ingredients

• 2 chicken thighs, skin-on and bone-in ideally

• 2 good-sized potatoes, cubed

• 5 small shallots, peeled and halved (optional)

• 300ml local cider

• 200ml cream

• 1 small chicken stock cube

• 1 handful frozen peas

• 1 tsp English, Dijon or wholegrain mustard

• 1 bay leaf

• 1 splash Worcestershire sauce

• Small knob of butter, optional

• Olive oil

• Salt and black pepper

Method

1. Start the pan: Place a large frying pan over a medium heat with a small splash of olive oil. Season the chicken thighs with salt and black pepper, then place them skin-side down in the pan.

2. Add the potatoes: Cube the potatoes and place them in the pan with the chicken. If using shallots, add them now too. Cook steadily so the chicken skin crisps and the fat renders, turning the potatoes regularly so they become golden and absorb the chicken flavour.

3. Build the sauce: Once the chicken and potatoes are cooked, turn up the heat and add the cider. Crumble in the stock cube, add the bay leaf, mustard and a splash of Worcestershire sauce.

4. Reduce: Let the cider bubble away until reduced by around 60%, scraping up all the flavour from the bottom of the pan.

5. Add the cream: Turn the heat down and stir in the cream. Let the sauce gently simmer until it thickens slightly and coats the chicken and potatoes.

6. Finish the peas: Heat the peas in the sauce, or in a separate pan with a knob of butter, a little lemon zest and chopped parsley if you like.

7. Serve: Season everything well, spoon the potatoes and sauce onto plates, top with the chicken and finish with the peas.

Camper Cooking Tip

This dish shows how good campsite cooking can be with just one stove. By cooking the potatoes in the chicken fat and building the sauce in the same pan, you create layers of flavour with very little kit.

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