Ingredients

• 500g skinless, boned chicken thighs

• 3 medium carrots, peeled and chopped

• 1 stick celery, washed, halved lengthways and chopped

• 2 banana shallots, peeled and roughly chopped

• 2 cloves garlic finely grated

• 300g chestnut mushrooms, wiped clean, and quartered

• 60ml dry vermouth

• 600ml chicken stock made with 2 stock cubes and boiling water

• 1 bay leaf

• 1tsp dried oregano

• 1 heaped tbsp plain flour

• Freshly ground black pepper

• 2 tbsp olive oil

Dumplings

• 100g self raising flour

• 50g suet

• 1 tsp mixed herbs

• Pinch of salt

• 5 tbsp cold water.

Method

1. Heat oven to 170C or 160C fan
2. Trim any excess fat from the thighs, and cut each thigh into two or three pieces (two if small, three if big)
3. Heat the oil in a non-stick sauté pan and brown the chicken in batches. Add them to a casserole dish when browned.
4. Now turn down the heat and gently soften the shallots and garlic  by cooking them in the sauté pan in a little oil.
5. Add these to the casserole dish along with the carrots and celery.
6. Sprinkle the flour into the casserole dish and mix well into the ingredients so everything is coated.
7. Add the mushrooms, bay leaf, oregano, some black pepper and again mix well.
8. Deglaze the sauté pan with vermouth.
9. Pour in the hot stock, and add the vermouth from the sauté pan, cover, and cook in the oven for 1.5 hours.
10. Mix together the dry ingredients for the dumplings then add the water a tablespoon at a time and knead into a soft slightly sticky dough. Roll into a sausage shape and divide into eight pieces and roll them into balls.
11. Increase the oven heat to 200C or 180C fan. Add the dumplings to the top of the casserole, cover and cook for another 25-30 minutes.