Name: Nana’s chicken cobbler
Cook time: 70 min
Total time: 70 min
Yield: 6
Ingredients: 1 1/2 boneless chicken breasts, skin removed; 1 stalk celery, thinly sliced; 2 carrots, peeled and sliced; 1 sprig rosemary; 1 bay leaf; 750 millilitre chicken stock; 1 1/2 tablespoon olive oil; 1 leek, trimmed and thinly sliced; 1 1/2 cup button mushrooms, cleaned and quartered; 1 rasher bacon, chopped; 1 1/2 tablespoon plain flour; 1 tablespoon cream; Cobbler topping; 150 gram self-raising flour; 1 pinch mixed herbs; 75 gram butter

Nana’s chicken cobbler

Are you familiar with the adage ‘the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach’? Well, Nana knows the truth of it. Grandad has always been a man of simple tastes. He likes to start a meal with a full plate and finish with a full stomach. As long as the plate is warm and the food hot, not tepid or too “mucked about with”, he is content, with a farmer’s respect for good, fresh food. So it was with trepidation I cooked for him that first time at my parents’ house. Him on his best behaviour, nervously sipping at his beer, while Dad gave him the once-over. I made a chicken cobbler – I barely ate a bite, though it was savoury and delicious with a fluffy, light crust. Later, walking out to the gate, he proposed, citing my dimples and my dinner as qualities “a man’d be a damn fool to pass up”.

Skip to Recipe

Serves 6

Cook

1H 10M

Ingredients

1 1/2 boneless chicken breasts, skin removed

1 stalk celery, thinly sliced

2 carrots, peeled and sliced

1 sprig rosemary

1 bay leaf

750 millilitre chicken stock

1 1/2 tablespoon olive oil

1 leek, trimmed and thinly sliced

1 1/2 cup button mushrooms, cleaned and quartered

1 rasher bacon, chopped

1 1/2 tablespoon plain flour

1 tablespoon cream

Cobbler topping

150 gram self-raising flour

1 pinch mixed herbs

75 gram butter

Method

1.Preheat oven to 210°C. Place chicken in a pan with the celery, carrot, rosemary, bayleaf and stock. Simmer for 35 minutes, or until chicken is cooked, then strain the stock into a bowl (not down the sink) and scoop chicken and vegetable mixture onto a side plate.

2.Wipe out pan with a paper towel, heat oil and add the sliced leek, mushrooms and the bacon and cook until soft.

3.Stir in flour and gradually whisk in the reserved stock, stirring continuously. Shred or finely slice the chicken and add to the pan along with the celery and carrots. Season with salt and pepper and stir in the cream. Place the chicken mixture into a casserole dish.

4.To make the topping, put the flour, herbs and butter in the food processor and process in small bursts until mixture looks like breadcrumbs, then add enough cold water to form a dough. Knead very lightly on a floured bench then roll to the shape and size of your casserole dish. Gently place the dough over the top of the filling mixture and score a diagonal pattern with a knife.

5.Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes until risen, golden and piping hot.

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