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Mary Berry Chicken Hotpot with Potato Topping Recipe

Mary Berry Chicken Hotpot with Potato Topping Recipe

Mary Berry's chicken hotpot has a rich, deeply flavoured filling under overlapping golden potato slices — a beautifully classic British supper.
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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 25 minutes
Cooling Time 5 minutes
Total Time 2 hours
Servings: 6 Portions
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: British
Calories: 470
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • Filling:
  • 800 g boneless skinless chicken thighs in generous chunks
  • 2 tbsp sunflower oil
  • 2 large onions finely sliced
  • 3 carrots sliced into 1cm rounds
  • 3 celery sticks sliced into 1cm pieces
  • 3 garlic cloves crushed
  • 2 tbsp plain flour
  • 400 ml chicken stock
  • 200 ml dry white wine
  • 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
  • 2 bay leaves
  • Salt and pepper
  • Potato Topping:
  • 800 g Maris Piper potatoes peeled and sliced 3mm thick
  • 50 g unsalted butter melted
  • Salt and white pepper
  • Fresh thyme leaves

Method
 

  1. Season and brown chicken in batches — 3–4 minutes per batch. Remove.
  2. Cook sliced onions in same casserole over medium heat — 8–10 minutes. Add carrots, celery, and garlic — 5 minutes.
  3. Add flour — stir 1–2 minutes. Add wine — bubble 2 minutes, scrape base. Add stock, Worcestershire sauce, thyme, and bay leaves. Season. Return chicken. Taste and adjust seasoning.
  4. Preheat oven to 170°C / 150°C fan / Gas 3. Arrange potato slices in overlapping layers over the filling. Season each layer lightly. Scatter thyme. Brush generously with all the melted butter.
  5. Cover tightly. Bake 1 hour. Remove lid — increase to 200°C / 180°C fan / Gas 6. Bake 25–30 minutes until potato is deep golden and a knife meets no resistance.
  6. Rest 5 minutes. Serve from the casserole.

Notes

Slice potatoes to exactly 3mm — even slices cook evenly. A mandoline makes this consistent.
Season each layer of potato as you go — the topping needs its own seasoning.
Use all the melted butter on the top layer — it gives the golden, slightly crisped surface.
Cover for the first hour, uncovered for the final 25–30 minutes — two distinct stages.
Season the filling assertively before covering — it cannot be adjusted after.
Freeze before baking for up to 2 months.
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