Roasting tin · Tested twice

Mustard Roast Chicken with Leeks

Name: Mustard Roast Chicken with Leeks
Prep time: 12 min
Cook time: 43 min
Total time: 55 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs; 4 large leeks, white and pale green parts, sliced into thick rounds; 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard; 1 tablespoon whole grain mustard; 3/4 cup heavy cream; 1/2 cup chicken stock; 2 tablespoons olive oil; 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves; Salt and black pepper; Crusty bread, to serve

The leeks go in raw under the chicken and come out forty-five minutes later melted into a sauce. There is no separate sauce-making step because there does not need to be.

12 minHands-on

55 minTotal

4Serves

1 tinTo wash up

Front of the cardwhat you cook

Ingredients

8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
4 large leeks, white and pale green parts, sliced into thick rounds
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon whole grain mustard
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup chicken stock
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
Salt and black pepper
Crusty bread, to serve

Method

Heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Pat the chicken thighs completely dry and season both sides well.
Toss the sliced leeks with the olive oil, thyme, salt and pepper in a roasting tin and spread them out evenly.
Whisk the Dijon, whole grain mustard, cream and stock, and pour it over the leeks.
Set the thighs on top, skin side up and sitting above the liquid so the skin crisps rather than poaches.
Roast 40 to 45 minutes, until the skin is deep golden and the thighs reach 175 degrees F at the thickest point.
Rest 5 minutes, stir the leeks and sauce together in the tin, and serve with bread for the sauce.

Back of the cardwhat to know

Swap the leeksSliced fennel is excellent and roasts in the same time. Onions work but are sweeter and need 10 minutes longer to soften properly.

Swap the creamCreme fraiche stirred in at the end, or whole milk plus a teaspoon of flour whisked in at the start. Light cream splits at this temperature.

Lighter versionHalve the cream and make up the volume with stock. The sauce is thinner but the flavour holds.

Keeps3 days refrigerated. The skin softens entirely — reheat uncovered in a hot oven for 10 minutes if that bothers you.

LeftoversShred the meat into the leeks and sauce, and serve over pasta or baked potatoes. It is arguably a better dish the second night.

What goes wrongLeeks sliced too thick, which stay stringy and fibrous instead of melting. Thick rounds, yes, but no more than about half an inch.

Serve withBread, boiled potatoes, or rice. Something plain, because the sauce is doing the work.

The bit that matters

Keep the chicken skin above the liquid line. The thighs should sit on the leeks, not in the cream — that is the only thing standing between crisp skin and a pale, poached one.

*Approximately 540 calories per serving. Calories are an estimate from standard ingredient databases; actual values vary by brand and portion. See our disclaimer.