Preheat the Clifton water bath to 82°C.
Use a clean vacuum pack bag and make sure you wear clean disposable gloves.
Wash the chicken legs and pat them dry with kitchen paper. Rub salt and fresh cracked black pepper into the chicken legs and place the legs in the bag. Add the rest of the ingredients and seal the bags on a hard vacuum.
Place the bags in the Clifton water bath and cook for 8 hours. Once cooked, cool them in ice water.
Parsnip Cream
Place the peeled and cut parsnips in a clean vacuum bag with the butter, sugar and salt.
Hard vacuum and cook the parsnips at 82°C in a Clifton water bath for 25 minutes.
Press the parsnips and if they are soft they are done but if they are still slightly firm, cook them for longer. It’s important that the parsnips are very soft.
Once the parsnips are cooked place them in a thermomix and puree for 1 minute at speed 10. Scrape the sides down, add the cream and milk and puree for another minute at speed 10. Cool the puree until needed.
To Complete the Dish
Preheat the oven to 200°C.
Place the small round onions on a baking sheet and roast in the oven for 25 – 30 minutes in their skins.
Once they are soft, pop the cooked onions out of their skins. Heat a small frying pan and sauté the onions with the pancetta lardons and mushrooms (cut in half) until golden brown with 20g of the butter.
Remove the chicken legs from the vacuum bag and pour the sauce through a sieve into a small saucepan. Place the chicken legs on a roasting tray in a preheated oven for 20 minutes to heat through. Place them under the grill for a further 3 – 4 minutes to crisp the skin.
While the chicken is in the oven heat the parsnip cream in a small saucepan, if the puree is too thick, let it down with milk. Bring the sauce to the boil, cook for 5 minutes with the remaining 40g of cold butter in the sauce.
Spoon the Parsnip Cream on to the plate, arrange the chicken and the rest of the ingredients and finish the dish with a spoon of the sauce and a sprinkle of the flat leaf parsley and the croutons.
Enjoy!