Claypot Chicken with Root Vegetables

For those of you wondering how I'm doing (thank you so much, your e-mails really cheer me up!), I'm happy to report that I'm pretty good! My jaw is a bit swollen and tender, but that's to be expected. The pain is subtle, and definitely bearable. I don't need to be on a liquid diet, but I'm not exactly feeling like chewing much, so it's soft food for today. Per is planning on a chicken with red wine sauce, with new potatoes for tonight.

Today will be spent shopping and preparing for the big Wedding Cake-o-rama tomorrow. The wedding is Saturday. Wish me luck - I'm a tad nervous. I'm sure the cakes are going to be tasty, but they have to look good, too.

Today's recipe is for a claypot chicken. I don't know if many of you, like me, have a claypot stashed somewhere, but I know that I'm really bad at using mine. Which is a shame, because it's really an excellent way of cooking. It's easy, and super tasty - but not exactly fast. Oh well. This can easily be varied, use different vegetables if you like (red pepper and mushrooms would be nice) and serve it with anything from rice to bulgur, couscous, riced potatoes or just ordinary boiled potatoes.

Claypot Chicken with Root Vegetables

1 large chicken
salt
black pepper
1 parsnip
1 carrot
200 g celeriac
4 shalotts
1 garlic clove
1 red apple
1 bay leaf
2 tsp dried thyme
300 ml chicken stock
3 tbsp crème fraîche

Cover the empty pot with cold water for an hour. (The lid, too!) Cut the chicken into smaller pieces, and season them with salt and pepper. Peel and dice the root vegetables, and mince the garlic. Cut the apple into wedges. Put everything in the pot - the chicken on top - and season with a bit more salt and pepper, the thyme and the bay leaf. Pour in the stock. Put the whole pot into a cold oven, set the timer to 90 minutes, and turn the oven to 175°C. Go and relax for a while.

When it's done, strain the stock from the pot into a small saucepan. Add the crème fraîche. Pour it back into the pot, and serve with your choice of sides.

Recipe in Swedish:
Rotfruktskyckling i lergryta