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A cosy, creamy chicken dauphinoise with dijon and cream

In an extract from her cookbook ‘One Pan Chicken’, Claire Thomson shares a recipe for a cosy, creamy chicken dish

Looks fancy this recipe, although it is really very easy to make. Ideally, use a mandoline to slice the potatoes – a sharp piece of kitchen equipment, a mandoline is inexpensive and easy to come by, and incredibly useful for slicing potatoes or other ingredients in an exacting fashion. This means that the potatoes then all cook perfectly in unison. For this recipe the potatoes are partially submerged in a Dijon mustard-laced cream, with the tops of the potatoes protruding to fan and blister in the heat of the oven, the chicken pieces snug, nicely nestled in the cream and potatoes to cook at the same time.

Next, try Claire Thomson's 40 cloves of garlic chicken.

See all the best recipes from the House & Garden archive.

Chicken dauphinoise with dijon and cream

  • Yield

    Serves 4

Ingredients

Ingredients

250ml (9fl oz) double (heavy) cream
150ml (5fl oz) whole milk
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tsp thyme leaves
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 bay leaves, scrunched a little
1 nutmeg, a good grating (or a pinch of ground)
50g (1¾oz) parmesan, finely grated
800g (1lb 12oz) small waxy potatoes, very thinly sliced (skin on)
1kg (2lb 4oz) whole chicken thighs, legs or drumsticks
butter, for dotting, if necessary
salt and freshly ground black pepper
  1. Method

    Step 1

    Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/400°F/Gas 6.

    Step 2

    Mix the cream and milk along with the garlic, thyme, mustard, bay, nutmeg and plenty of black pepper in a large bowl, then add salt to taste. Stir through half the parmesan, then add the potatoes and chicken and stir to coat everything in the cream. Remove the chicken to a plate.

    Step 3

    Arrange the creamy potatoes in a roasting tin or baking dish, fanning them out, then nestle the chicken in, skin-side up.

    Step 4

    Cover the roasting tin with a lid or foil and bake the chicken and potatoes for 30–40 minutes. Remove the foil, sprinkle the remaining parmesan on top and bake for a further 30 minutes, until browned on top and cooked through. If you feel the potatoes and chicken skin need more colour, you can dot them with butter and pop the dish under a hot grill (broiler) for 5 minutes.

    Step 5

    Remove from the oven and allow the dish to rest for 5 minutes before serving.