Finding comfort in food

Gill’s mouth-watering recipe for baked chicken thighs with cider, wholegrain mustard, and Rodda’s Cornish clotted cream is the perfect comfort food recipe, suitable for any time of year when only a spoonful of wonderful will do. Rodda’s Cornish clotted cream is not just the perfect topping for a cream tea but can also be used as a rich, silky addition to savoury dishes, as Gill explains:  “I’d serve this with something like celeriac and potato mash (you can add a spoonful of Rodda’s Cornish clotted cream to this too) and buttered tenderstem broccoli for the ultimate comfort food.”

Serves 3 – 4

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour

INGREDIENTS

6 organic or free-range chicken thighs

2 tbsp olive oil

6 rashers streaky bacon, cut into small pieces

1 onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

2 small to medium leeks, trimmed, rinsed and cut into 1 – 2 cm rounds

2 sprigs rosemary

A handful of sage leaves, roughly ribboned

450ml medium dry cider

227g Rodda’s Cornish clotted cream

1 tbsp wholegrain mustard

½ bunch flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked and chopped

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

METHOD

1. Prepare the chicken thighs

Preheat the oven to 190 °C /170 °C fan/gas mark 5. Season the chicken thighs all over with salt and pepper. Place a large heavy casserole or roasting dish on medium/high heat. Add the olive oil, and when it’s hot, carefully place the seasoned chicken thighs, skin side down, into the dish. Fry them for 4 – 5 minutes on each side or until nice and golden. Lift the chicken out of the dish onto a plate but leave the dish on the heat.

2. Prepare the other ingredients

Add the bacon pieces to the dish and fry for a few minutes until they are just beginning to crisp a little around the edges. Now scatter in the chopped onion and garlic along with the sage and rosemary sprigs, and stir well. Cook the onions for 4 – 5 minutes or until they are nice and soft, and smell lovely and sweet. Add the leeks and stir well. Now nestle the chicken thighs, skin side up, back into the pan. Pour in the cider and bring to a gentle simmer. Place the dish, uncovered, into the middle
of the preheated oven and cook for
45 – 50 minutes.

3. Finish the sauce

Remove the dish from the oven and set it back on the stove over medium heat. Lift the chicken out onto a plate and cover it with foil while you turn your attention back to the sauce. Stir in the Rodda’s Cornish clotted cream and the mustard and bring the pan back up to a simmer. Cook, stirring once or twice until the sauce has thickened slightly and looks lovely and rich. Stir in the parsley, return the chicken to the pan, warm through and bring to
the table.

4. To serve

Serve this with side dishes like celeriac, potato mash with more Rodda’s Cornish clotted cream stirred through, and buttered tenderstem broccoli. Enjoy!

RODDA’S CORNISH CLOTTED CREAM

The Creamery, Scorrier, Redruth TR16 5BU
www.roddas.co.uk