2 leeks, white stalk washed and cut into 5cm pieces. Keep the green leafy stalks for making vegetable stock. I keep vegetable scraps in the freezer until I’ve accumulated enough to make a stock
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2 cups of chicken stock
1 tablespoon of dijon mustard
¼ cup of cream fraiche. You could also use thickened cream and tablespoon of lemon juice/apple cider vinegar
Generous pinch of salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon of cornstarch/tapioca flour mixed into a slurry with 1 tablespoon of cold water
METHOD
Pat the chicken thighs dry and season with a generous pinch of salt.
Place chicken into a cold pan skin side down, heating the pan to high. This allows the chicken skin to render out some fat so you don’t need to add oil, but also crisps up the skin and turns it golden. Cook for a few minutes until the skin is golden brown and flip to the other side to brown for another few minutes. For extra brown/crispy skin, using tongs or a weight to press down the thigh into the pan so it has more contact which browns then faster.
Remove the chicken from the pan and add the apples, cooking for 2 minutes until they turn brighter yellow in colour. I also add a splash of the chicken stock into the pan to deglaze the pan so the rendered chicken fat lifts off.
Add in the leeks and cook for another 2 minutes until they have slightly softened.
Then add in the remaining chicken stock, mustard, cream and a generous pinch of salt and pepper. Bring to the boil and then add the chicken thighs back in, skin side up nestling them into the sauce. Reduce to a simmer with the lid on for 10 minutes.
Taste the sauce and season to taste, you’ll most likely need to add more salt and maybe some acid (lemon juice, dash of vinegar) to balance the sweet and creaminess. Mix in the cornstarch slurry to thicken the sauce, it should coat the back of your spoon.
Serve whilst hot and enjoy! If you’ve got extra time, this dish pairs really well over some creamy mashed potatoes, otherwise for a fuss free option, a crusty baguette, rice or a leafy green salad would work well too.
