Pan-Fried Chicken Thighs
with Spiced Creamy Lentils
We're so used to seeing lentils dried or in tins that it only occurred to us the other day to wonder what a lentil plant looks like. The answer; not dissimilar to a pea plant, but bushier. Here we've put these lovely legumes in a spicy, creamy sauce which pairs perfectly with pan-fried chicken. Beautiful!
Boxes and ingredients are packed in facilities that handles Peanut, Nuts, Sesame, Fish, Crustaceans, Milk, Egg, Mustard, Celery, Soya, Gluten and Sulphites. Due to the war in Ukraine, it has been necessary to substitute sunflower oil with rapeseed oil in some products without a label change. The FSA have advised that allergic reactions to rapeseed oil are rare.
Ingredients
1
Carrot
1
Leek
½
Red Chilli
½
Thyme
½
Sage
4
British Chicken Thighs
1
Lentils
1
Chicken Stock Powder
99
Creme Fraiche
(Contains Milk)
Nutritional information
Utensils
Instructions
Trim the carrot, then quarter lengthways (no need to peel). Chop widthways into small pieces.Trim the root and the dark green leafy part from the leek. Slice into rounds about 0.5cm thick. Halve the chilli lengthways, remove the seeds then finely chop.
Pick both the thyme leaves and the sage leaves from their stalks (discard the stalks from both herbs). Roughly chop the sage leaves.
Heat a splash of oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the carrot, leek, and to start with, a pinch of chilli (you can add more or less depending on how much you like spice!) and all of the thyme and sage. Season with salt and cook gently until soft, 8-9 mins, stirring occasionally. Tip: Turn the heat down if the ingredients start to brown.
Meanwhile, heat a drizzle of oil in a frying pan on medium high heat. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Once the pan is hot, lay in the chicken skin side down and fry until the skin is golden and crisp, 5 mins. IMPORTANT: Wash your hands after handling raw chicken. Once golden, turn and cook for 5 mins on the other side, then continue cooking, turning every 2 mins for 4-6 more mins or until the chicken is cooked through. IMPORTANT: The chicken is cooked when no longer pink in the middle.
While the chicken cooks, drain and rinse the lentils in a sieve. Once the veggies are soft, add the lentils along with a splash of water, stock powder and crème fraîche. Stir to dissolve the stock powder, bring to the boil and then remove from the heat. Season to taste with salt and pepper if needed.Add more chilli if you want it spicier!
Spoon the spiced creamy lentils onto your plates and top with the pan-fried chicken. Enjoy!
