Ingredients
• 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 12 eschalots, peeled (see tip, below)
• 2 carrots, sliced into 1cm-thick pieces
• 6 rashers middle bacon, rind removed, roughly chopped
• 400g button mushrooms
• 10 chicken drumsticks
• Sea-salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper, to season
• 1 Tbsp plain flour
• 750ml dry red wine
• 140g tomato paste
• 2 cloves garlic, smashed
• 2 fresh bay leaves
• 4 sprigs thyme
• 2 Tbsp brandy
Tip: Soak the eschalots in a bowl of boiling water for 5 minutes, before draining well. This process makes it much easier to peel off the skins.
Method
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Heat 1 Tbsp of the oil in a large non-stick frying pan over a medium-high heat. Add eschalots and carrot and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Transfer to the bowl of a 7L slow cooker.
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In the same pan, cook bacon and mushrooms, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until lightly browned.
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Spoon bacon mixture over browned vegetables.
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Put chicken drumsticks in a large bowl and season. Add flour, tossing to coat.
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Heat 1 Tbsp of the remaining oil in same pan. Add ½ of the chicken and cook, turning occasionally, for 5 minutes or until browned all over.
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Transfer chicken to slow-cooker bowl and repeat Step 5 with remaining chicken and oil.
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Add wine, tomato paste, garlic, bay leaves, thyme and brandy to bowl. Cover with lid and cook on low heat for 8 hours.
