Creamy chicken & pumpkin

• pack dried porcini↗20g g
• free-range chicken↗1

  about 1.5kg/3lb 5oz, jointed into 8 pieces (ask your butcher to do this for you)

• lemon↗1

  halved

• olive oil↗2 tbsp tbsp
• unsalted butter↗25g g
• onion↗1 small

  finely chopped

• pumpkin↗300g/10oz g

  peeled, seeded and cut into 2cm cubes

• chestnut mushrooms↗200g g

  roughly chopped

• carton double cream↗284ml ml

Step-by-step instructions

1. 1

   Soak porcini in 300ml/1⁄2 pt hot water for 30 mins. Skin chicken and rub the cut side of the lemon over them. Heat oil in a pan large enough to hold chicken in one layer. Add chicken and brown on both sides. Transfer to a casserole.

2. 2

   Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Melt the butter in a medium pan. When it stops foaming, add onion and 1 tsp salt, then sauté until pale gold.

3. 3

   Meanwhile, remove the porcini from the water and rinse well. Pat dry and chop small. Strain the water through a sieve, stopping before the last spoonful.

4. 4

   Add porcini and pumpkin pieces to onion and sauté for 5 mins. Add fresh mushrooms and cook for 5 mins more, stirring frequently. Stir in the cream, 4-5 tbsp of the porcini water and seasoning if you wish. Simmer uncovered for 10-12 mins until reduced slightly, then pour over the chicken.

5. 5

   Cover and cook in the oven for 30-40 mins, turning the chicken once or twice and adding a few spoonfuls of water if the sauce becomes a little dry.