Fennel and chicken casserole

This was shared on the Growers' sheet 3rd July 2020; no original source was cited.

It's a quick and delicious dinner: serves 2-3, depending on how hungry you are!

Gluten free (check the stock), dairy free

You can make this vegetarian or vegan by using a meat substitute like Iceland no chick strips (pictured here).

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

2 or 3 skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into chunks (or a meat replacement of your choice - we used Iceland No-Chick Strips)

1 large fennel bulb

200g new potato, cut into chunks

1 tin chopped tomatoes

150ml stock

salt & pepper

3 roasted red peppers in brine (from a jar), diced

Directions

  1. Remove all the leaves and stems from the fennel. Cut it into quarters and then length ways into slices. Set aside.
  2. Heat the oil in a large saute pan for which you have a lid.
  3. Add the onion, and fry until soft: a couple of minutes or so.
  4. Add the garlic and fry for a further minute.
  5. Add the chicken and fry until it lightly colours, then add the fennel. Cook for a further 2-3 minutes.
  6. Add the potatoes, tomatoes and stock. Season. Bring to the boil and simmer covered for about 20 minutes, until the potatoes are soft.
  7. Stir in the peppers and heat through.
  8. Taste and adjust seasoning.
  9. Serve immediately with some crusty bread to mop up the juices. Enjoy!

Possible variations:

  • You could reduce the peppers to two, to make it slightly less sweet
  • You could increase the quantity of potatoes
  • Paprika or smoked paprika might take the flavours in a good direction too

This recipe tastes even better made with vegetables from Community Harvest Whetstone :)