Spring Chicken Cooked In The Oven

Our answer

Nigella's recipe for Spring Chicken (from KITCHEN) is a chicken stew with bacon, cider, mustard and lettuce. The dish is best made with chicken thighs on the bone as these tend to be more succulent and have a better flavour than other cuts. We suspect that it would be possible to cook the dish in the oven, though it is very simple and quick to let it cook on the stove top for 30-40 minutes.

If you are cooking the dish in the oven then you still need to start by browning the pancetta and chicken on the stove top and letting the vegetables soften slightly (steps 1 to 3). Add the cider and peas, bring up to boiling point then cover the top of the stew with a piece of greaseproof paper or baking parchment (parchment paper) and clamp on a tightly-fitting lid. Transfer the pan to an oven preheated to 180c/160c Fan/350F and cook for about 1 hour, until the chicken is cooked through and falling off the bone. This timing is for chicken thighs on the bone - boneless meat may cook more quickly. You can then finish the dish following the instructions in the recipe.