Yotam Ottolenghi’s slow-cooked chicken recipes | Chicken (2024)

The advantages of slow cooking aren’t merely functional. The longer and slower you cook something, the more tender and concentrated in flavour the end result will be. This is heightened when there’s a minimal amount of liquid in the pan, because that means the meat braises and steams in its own juices, rather than dispersing the flavour in an ocean of sauce or gravy; this also helps facilitate an exchange of flavour between the contents of the pan, which generally features a mixture of meat and starch.

I’ve used the sofrito approach in two of today’s recipes, pairing chicken with pasta and with celeriac, and it would also work with other starchy vegetables, such as potato or carrot. For me, this is the ultimate family friendly way to cook: a hearty one-pot dish packed with intense flavour and made in such a way that everyone has the chance to hang out and play, including the cook.

Slow-cooked chicken with bucatini (and lots of garlic)

Bucatini is a thick, hollow spaghetti. You can find it in large supermarkets and Italian delicatessens, but if you can’t get hold of any, penne makes the best alternative. It won’t look the same, but it’s better to stick with a tubed pasta, rather than use spaghetti, so the garlic, spices and cooking juices can find their way into the pasta. Serves four generously.

Put the chicken in a large bowl with the oil, paprika, allspice, turmeric and a teaspoon of salt. Toss to coat, then leave to marinate for 10 minutes.

Put a large, heavy-based casserole for which you have a lid on a medium-high heat. Lay in the chicken skin side down and fry for 10 minutes (there is no need to add any oil to the pan), turning regularly, until golden brown all over. Turn the heat to low and add the whole garlic cloves, tomatoes, lemon juice and two tablespoons of water. Pop on the lid and leave to cook slowly for 45 minutes, until the chicken is just cooked through.

Once the chicken is done, transfer both it and the garlic cloves to a plate. Pour the remaining contents of the casserole over the pasta and toss to combine. Return the chicken to the casserole skin side down and lay the soft garlic in between. Pour all the pasta and cooking juices on top, cover the pot and leave to cook on a low heat for another 45 minutes.

Transfer the pasta to a shallow serving bowl, then stir in the parsley. Arrange the chicken on top skin side up (some of the skin may have stuck to the base of the pan, but don’t worry), then pour over the garlic and cooking juices, and serve.

Braised chicken pappardelle

Pappardelle are broad, flat noodles whose name comes from “pappare”, meaning “to gobble up”, which is exactly what you’ll do to this dish. If you can’t find pappardelle, use tagliatelle or, at a pinch, fettuccine. Don’t be put off by the anchovies, even if they’re not your thing: they bring an extra depth to the dish, rather than any pronounced fishy flavour. Serves four.

Put the chicken in a bowl and toss with the oil, a quarter-teaspoon of salt and a generous grind of pepper.

Put a medium, heavy-based casserole for which you have a lid on a medium-high heat. Sear the chicken legs (in two batches, if need be) for five minutes, turning them once, until the skin is dark golden brown, then remove from the pan.

Put the carrot, onion, garlic, bay and thyme in the pan and cook for five minutes, stirring regularly, until softened. Return the chicken to the pot, add the stock, anchovies and a good grind of pepper, then cover, turn the heat to medium-low and leave to simmer gently for an hour.

Lift out the chicken from the pot, turn up the heat and boil for 10 minutes, until the liquid is reduced by a half and you have about 300ml left. Meanwhile, pull the meat off the chicken bones in large chunks; discard the bones and thyme stalks.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, cook the pasta until al dente, then drain. Add the chicken meat and pasta to the reduced sauce and vegetables, mix well, then divide between four plates, layering the rocket between tongfuls of the pasta mix. Drizzle with oil and serve.

Very slow-braised chicken with celeriac and lemon

4 large chicken thighs, bone in and skin on (about 750g in total)
1 tsp fennel seeds, lightly crushed
¼ tsp chilli flakes
1½ tsp ground cumin
2 tbsp olive oil, plus 1 tbsp extra to serve
Salt and pepper
750g celeriac, peeled and cut into 8 2cm-thick wedges
3 large banana shallots, peeled and cut into 0.5cm-thick slices
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
3 bay leaves
5 sprigs fresh thyme
4 lemons: 2 cut in half widthways, 2 juiced, but only after finely shaving off the peel from 1 of them
5g flat-leaf parsley leaves, finely chopped
5g tarragon leaves, finely chopped

Put a large, heavy-based cast-iron pan for which you have a lid on a medium heat (ideally one that’s about 28cm in diameter). Once the pan is good and hot, lay in the chicken skin-side down and fry for seven to eight minutes, until the skin is crisp and golden brown. Turn over the chicken, fry for three minutes more, then transfer to a large plate. Keep the pan on the heat and fry the celeriac in the residual hot fat for 10 minutes, turning once halfway through (cook it in batches, if need be). Transfer the celeriac to the chicken plate.

Once cooked, divide the chicken and celeriac between four plates (it’s up to you whether you include or discard the lemon peel), drizzle with a little olive oil and sprinkle over the parsley and tarragon. Serve each portion with a lemon half for squeezing over the top

• Yotam Ottolenghi is chef/patron of Ottolenghi and Nopi in London.

• This article was edited on 6 February 2017, to clarify the number of servings for the final recipe.