Pot-roasted chicken with bay, prunes, bacon and onions, and bread sauce

Name: Pot-roasted chicken with bay, prunes, bacon and onions, and bread sauce
Yield: Serves 4
Ingredients: 8 small bay leaves; 25 g (scant 1 oz/1¾ tbsp) unsalted butter, melted; 100 ml (3½ fl oz/scant ½ cup) dry white wine; 1 x 1.5-2 kg (3 lb 3 oz-4½ lb) chicken; Bread sauce, to serve; Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper; Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper; 250 g (9 oz) piece of pancetta, cut into lardons; 300 g (11 oz) button onions, peeled; 2 tbsp olive oil; 180 g (scant 6½ oz/1⅓ cups) prunes, pitted; 600 ml (1 pint/2½ cups) brown chicken stock; 200 g (7 oz) small shallots; 2 tbsp caster (superfine) sugar

Preparation info

Serves
4

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Chicken and Other Birds

By Paul Gayler

Published 2015

About

The charms of this dish are not only its taste but also the fact that it uses minimal equipment. That’s a real bonus for any cook. Combining bacon and prunes in cooking is something that goes back to the sixteenth century. The result is a lovely balance of salty and sweet flavours.

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil
250 g (9 oz) piece

Main course

Method

Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F/Gas 6).

Heat the oil in a flameproof and ovenproof casserole dish (Dutch oven) over a medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the lardons and fry for 4-5 minutes until golden. Move the lardons to one side of the dish.

Add the onions and sh