One of the Irish staples is the stew, this earthy seasonal recipe will warm you up this winter, with tender chicken, thyme, mushrooms and lots of nutritious veggies.

There’s nothing nicer than the tender chicken you get out of a slow-cooked stew. Think of the succulent meat falling straight from the bone, surrounded by tender carrots, bites of fluffy potato, and the richness of earthy mushrooms. This recipe is a classic and is the perfect sort of recipe for lobbing any extra ingredients you might have around the house into. It’s best to leave this cooking for the best part of the day, so perhaps preparing it at the weekend, or in the morning (if you have a crock pot) and giving it the correct amount of time to develop a full flavour would be best.

 Although it takes a while to cook, the stew itself is quite easy to prepare.

1. Once you have all the vegetables ready to go (peeled and chopped and ready for action), then you need to begin frying them off.
2. Fry the veggies and garlic in olive oil in a large skillet till softened but not too browned. Transfer to the slow cooker.
3. Brown the chicken legs in the frying pan and place these on the veggies. Pour over the stock and add thyme and potatoes.
4. Season and cook on low setting for about 7 hours or on the high setting for 4 hours.
5. When it’s been cooked for that long, it will be ready to serve, we recommend big hearty bowls of the stuff.

You need nothing more with this – it’s a meal in one pot. Enjoy your wonderful winter chicken stew!