Chicken Casserole with Mashed Potato Dumplings

Boil potatoes in a saucepan with cold water until they are very soft. Drain potatoes and mash them. You can use a potato masher or a potato ricer. Leave to cool.

Heat oil in a casserole dish over a medium heat. Fry chicken with salt and pepper to taste, until slightly browned. I cooked the chicken in two batches in the same dish. Transfer to a plate. Preheat oven to 200ºC (400ºF).

Fry bacon, onion, celery in the same pan for about 4–5 minutes until lightly browned. Add mushrooms and cook for another minute.

Put chicken in the casserole pan. Add tomatoes, chicken stock, bay leaf, thyme and carrots. Bring to a simmer on the stove, cover with a lid and cook in the oven for 30 minutes.

While the chicken is in the oven, make the dumplings. Put flour and salt in a large bowl and rub in the butter until mixture looks like breadcrumbs. Add 250 grams of cold mashed potatoes and rub together with the butter and flour.

Mix with milk to make a dough. Turn dough out onto a surface and roll into a thick sausage. Cut into 12 rounds.

Take the chicken out of the oven and season to taste with salt and pepper. (For me, it is delicious already without the dumplings!) Mix cornflour and water and stir into the casserole. Add leeks and stir until mixed in.

Top casserole with potato dumplings. Brush with a little milk and season with a little black pepper and sea salt. Cook it in the oven without a lid for another 30 minutes until dumplings turn golden brown.