The first time I had chicken with sausages casserole was at my husbands’ cousin Jacqui’s place. I still remember how she was putting it together and all the divine aromas wafting through the kitchen .
I have changed it slightly by adding white wine and a few extra vegetables.
The sausages can be any kind really except bbq sausages.
Chorizo sausages give it a spicy kick and add a Spanish touch to it. It is a delicious way to cook chicken, a bit different and is so easy to put together for a lovely Sunday family get together.
On this occasion I used two kinds of Chorizo sausages, however normally I would only use one type. One type was supermarket bought chorizo sausages, there were 6 in the packet. The other chorizo was from a local venison farm here in Margaret River, it’s a smoked venison chorizo with a good spicy bite to it. It is extremely delicious so I just couldn’t go past using it.
Normally I use chicken stock, but you can substitute it for vegetable or beef stock or even a cubed stock. You may need to check the sodium content if you are using a commercial stock just to avoid oversalting the dish when seasoning.
As well as using stock I also add a splash of dry white wine such as Sauvignon Blanc, to add an extra zing to this dish. It doesn’t have to be an expensive wine or any particular brand, just good enough for you to be able to enjoy drinking the rest of it!
Serves 4-6
Preparation time 30 minutes
Cooking time 1 hour 30 minutes
Ingredients
4 chicken marylands
1 tbsp olive oil
4-6 small potatoes, peeled, cut in half
8-12 button mushrooms, washed, stalks cut off
2 medium carrots, peeled, cut into 2-inch sticks
4-6 pickling onions, peeled
4-6 chorizo sausages
12 thin slices smoked chorizo sausage ( optional )
6 cloves garlic, skin on
2 bay leaves
1 dried chilli
1 cup chicken stock
3/4 cup dry white wine
4-6 springs of fresh thyme
1 spring of fresh rosemary
3-4 sage leaves
peel of 1/2 lemon
Salt and pepper to taste
Method
Preheat oven to 190C.
Prepare a large, heavy cast-iron or other suitable oven-proof pot with a lid and a large non-stick frying pan.
Heat olive oil in a frying pan over a high heat. Place the chicken marylands skin-side down and cook till browned on both sides, remove from pan and set aside.
Keep the pan on the stove over a high heat.
Place the sausages in, and cook till browned on all sides, remove from pan and set aside. Place potatoes and carrots in the same pan and cook for 2 minutes turning vegetables around, remove from pan and set aside.
Repeat again with onions, and at last, with mushrooms.
Place the chicken marylands and sausages into the bottom of the oven-proof pot. Arrange vegetables on top including garlic, bay leaves, dried chilli, herbs and lemon peel. Add salt if you are using unsalted stock, and ground black pepper. Pour stock and wine over the top and cover with the lid. Place into preheated oven and bake for 45 minutes before giving it a stir. Place the lid back on and cook for further 30 minutes. Remove the lid and bring the chicken marylands to the top skin-side up, then bake without the lid for further 15-20 minutes or till chicken is browned and vegetables are cooked through.
Serve and enjoy with fresh rustic bread or by itself!
