Prosecco chicken

Serves 4  

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 1½ hours   

Ingredients
4 chicken breasts (large) (you can also use thigh or legs if you prefer) 
2 sprigs of sprigs thyme 
1 clove garlic, roughly chopped 
1 lemon, zest of ½ and the lemon cut into slices (you want around 8 slices) 
250ml prosecco  
salt and pepper 
2 tbsp Olive oil 
1 tbsp brown sugar 

Gravy Ingredients 
Soffritto - 250g (I buy the ready chopped frozen variety from M&S or Waitrose) alternatively you can use 1 carrot, 1 celery and 1 small onion, cut into small dice 
200ml prosecco 
250g chicken bones or chicken wings 
500ml chicken stock 
salt and pepper 

Method
Firstly marinate the chicken.  Put the thyme, garlic, lemon zest and 250ml prosecco into a food bag add the chicken, seal and set aside in the fridge to marinate for at least 30 minutes. 

Meanwhile, put the chicken bones or wings into a large pot and cook until golden brown and caramelised - around 10-15 minutes.  Don't worry about any stuck bits on the bottom.  Add the soffritto, stir and cook for 5-7 minutes until soft. If you are using fresh vegetables then add a spoonful of oil. 

Add the 200 ml prosecco and bring to the boil. Add the chicken stock, bring to the boil again and lower to simmer until it has reduced by half, this will take anywhere from half an hour to an hour. Strain into a jug and with a spoon push all of the vegetables and meat to extract all of the juice and flavour.  Discard the bones and veg, cover and put to one side. 

Preheat oven to 180°C.  Place the lemon slices on a oven dish, remove the chicken from the marinade and lay over the lemons.  Put the marinade into a small saucepan.  Drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and cook for roughly 30 minutes until the skin is golden and the chicken is cooked and no pink meat remains. 

Meanwhile make the glaze by putting the sugar into the marinade, season and bring to the boil.  Reduce over a medium high heat until just a small amount of sticky glaze remains, this will take around 10 minutes although this will depend on how high your heat is so do make sure you watch it.  Once the glaze is finished, brush over your chicken breast and repeat after 10 minutes twice more. 

Reheat your gravy just before you remove the chicken comes out of the oven and serve.