Chicken is a very versatile raw material for cooking, and is one of my favourite things to cook. And, as I think some of my readers might have noticed by now, I love both eating and cooking!

So in the last few weeks I have been experimenting with a new dish which is somewhere between chicken-a-la-king and a country chicken stew. It is handy for cooking in a crock pot.

My experiments have been well-received by the family, so I thought maybe my fellow-Hubbers might like to try it for themselves.

Before we get into the recipe it might be appropriate to explain why I call it “a-la-hoi-polloi”. The fact is the “hoi polloi” is a Greek term for “the masses” or the “ordinary” people, of whom I consider myself one, being mildly anti-monarchist by persuasion.

The term was allegedly first used in this sense in English in an 1837 work by James Fennimore Cooper entitle Gleanings from Europe, although Lord Byron used it in a letter in 1813 in which he placed contemporary poets in a hierarchy, with Walter Scott at the top; Samuel Rogers on the next level; the two Thomases, Moore and Campbell next; the Romantics Robert Southey, William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge on the next level; the final level was occupied by the hoi polloi, the rest.

Interesting that the poet at the level just below Scott is perhaps least known these days. Samuel Rogers was, in his day, well-known as a poet and had considerable influence in the literary world of Britain in the early 19^th Century, and indeed could still later in the century express his opinions on the fitness of Tennyson to be poet laureate, and be listened to.

Who reads the poetic banker these days? I'm not sure, but he was regarded in his day as the poetic “go-to” man. Definitely not a member of the hoi polloi!

Anyways, after that slight literary diversion, back to the business of chicken-a-la-hoi-polloi!

1 to 1.5 kg chicken pieces (with or without skin – without skin obviously makes the dish less rich)

45 ml margarine or butter

45 ml cake flour

200 ml chicken stock (preferably home made, but stock powder mixed with boiling water will do)

15 ml dry sherry or white wine (optional)

250 ml fresh cream or full cream milk (optional – but the cream makes the dish super-wonderful! If a little less hoi polloi!)

2 large carrots

1 large potato

1large onion, coarsely chopped

250 g mushrooms (optional)

250 g sliced sweet pepper

Sprig of fresh Rosemary

Peel and cut the carrots and potatoes into thin pieces and put into the bottom of the crock pot with the chopped onion. Switch pot onto high setting with the lid on.

Brown the chicken pieces – if you are using breasts do this at a fairly high temperature for a short time. If you are using other pieces do this at a lower temperature and start with the bone side down in the pan.

As soon as the chicken pieces are cooked put them into the crock pot with the lid on.

In the pan you have browned the chicken in put the flour and cook for about 2 minutes. You might need to add a little margarine or butter at this point.

Add the stock, stirring constantly and bring to boil.

Add the cream or milk, still stirring. Make sure the mixture does not stick. I use a Teflon based frying pan to assist with this.

Boil gently until the mixture is quite thick, then add the sherry or white wine and boil a few minutes longer.

Meantime you should add the sprig of Rosemary to the pot.

Once the mixture is quite thick (don't be too worried about it being too thick – it thins down quite a bit as the dish cooks ion the crock pot) pour it over the other ingredients in the crock pot, close the lid. As soon as the whole mixture in the pot has come to the boil again, set it on low, and go read some Byron or Fennimore-Cooper, depending on your taste. It is advisable to stir the whole lot at least twice during the cooking, perhaps when you go to the kitchen to make a cup of tea or coffee, or to top up the wine glass!

When you've had your fill of them (the writers, I mean), or after about 6 to 8 hours, your kitchen will be filled with the most amazingly tempting aromas and you will want to get to eating.

This is lovely served with any pasta (al dente, of course!). We like it also with Thai jasmine-scented rice, or even with couscous. A fresh salad or garden vegetables like peas, broccoli or cauliflower round it off very nicely, thank you.

The sauce is so delicious you might want to have a baguette sliced to mop up what's left on your plates.

Not too shabby a dish for the hoi polloi, wouldn't you say? Have fun with the Romantics and enjoy the grub!