Chicken in Cider

Clearly, my brother is the one whose good at photography in my family. You can find him over at http://findmatthewcoleman.tumblr.com. Clearly, I've already made this recipe unappetizing just through my inherent ability to capture washed out colour and blurred form. The thing is that the recipe is really simple, and the taste is incredible - the sharp bite of the cider the perfect foil to that thick oozy texture of the cream sauce. It's one pot cooking as well, which apparently people like. I did it for a couple of people again, because dishes like this cooked for one are a little bleak. If your life is a little bleak and you have no one to share it with, perk up - you can have the rest for leftovers tomorrow you massive, massive loser.

You'll need...

2 chicken thighs, boned, but keep the bones

500ml of a good dry cider, for example I used Frome Valley

6 or so chestnut mushrooms

few sprigs of thyme

2 carrots, peeled and chopped to chunks

1 leek, cleaned and chopped

quite a few new potatoes, I used fir, halved

3 heaped tbsp of creme fraiche

Take your chicken and bones and saute them in a little oil until lightly browned on each side. Remove and set aside and replace with the leeks. Give these a couple of minutes of light sizzling, then add your carrot and potatos and give them a similar amount of time.

Next pour in the cider, reintroduce the chicken and add a couple of sprigs of thyme, bring to a light simmer, cover and allow to bubble slowly for half an hour.

I did some washing up and watched television for half an hour. You can do whatever you like.

Go back to the pot, remove the chicken and keep warm. Add the creme fraiche and turn up the heat a little. You're looking to reduce it down to a thicker consistency, like a sauce instead of a soup. Add thyme and some seasoning around now, and when the sauce reaches the desired thickness, add the chicken back and get ready to serve.

So incredibly easy, and delicious to boot.