Recipes include Perfect Roast Chicken and Pot-Roast Poussin
PERFECT ROAST CHICKEN
The chicken is key: anything short of an organic, hand-raised bird is unlikely to deliver anything like the depth of flavour and succulence. Traditionally, the view has been to roast a chicken somewhere between 180 and 200 degrees, by which time the skin tends to be well browned and the breast meat rather dried out. Try increasing the cooking time to one hour and 30 minutes at 150 degrees. You will notice far less juice in the roasting pan (it's all still in the meat) and the skin will be pale. You can solve the latter issue by turning the heat up for the last 10 minutes, or use the grill. Rest the bird upside down - what juices are going to come out are far more likely to seep into the breast - and do baste the bird with what little juice there is. This tends to appear after the first 45 minutes, so basting for the remaining time every 10 minutes will give you a more succulent bird. The resting is key, it should be for at least 20 minutes.
All recipes serve four
PAN-FRIED CHICKEN, WILTED SPINACH AND OVEN-DRIED TOMATO RELISH
4 chicken breasts
1 tbsp butter
4 tbsp olive oil
4 generous handfuls large leaf spinach, stems removed
2 tbsp finely chopped shallots
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
1 tbsp finely chopped parsley
1 heaped tbsp sage leaves
8 halves oven-dried tomatoes
Heat the butter and olive oil in a large frying pan. Season the chicken generously with salt and pepper and when the oil and butter are hot, slide the chicken in, skin side down. Sauté gently for five minutes, or until the skin is golden brown, then turn it over and cook for a further seven minutes. Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside in a warm place.
Stir-fry the spinach in the same pan for five minutes, until it just begins to wilt. Add one tablespoon of the shallots, cook for a further two minutes, add all the garlic and remove from the heat. The sage can be deep or shallow fried in vegetable oil, literally for seconds. It burns easily.
Roughly chop the oven-dried tomatoes and combine them with the remaining shallots and just enough olive oil to bind. Stir in the parsley. To serve, place the chicken on top of the spinach, top with the sage and serve the tomato relish at the side.
FOR THE OVEN-DRIED TOMATOES
Cut plum tomatoes lengthways through the core and lay, cut side up, on a roasting tray. Drizzle lots of olive oil over them, and season with salt and pepper. Be generous. Bake in a preheated oven, 140 degrees/gas one, for six hours, or until most of the moisture has evaporated. For Aga owners, top of the bottom oven overnight is perfect.
CHICKEN, GREEN PEPPERCORNS, CAPERS AND SPINACH
4 chicken breasts
olive oil
4 generous handfuls of spinach, well rinsed
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
half glass white wine
2 tbsp capers, well rinsed
2 tbsp green peppercorns in brine, well rinsed
1 lemon, trimmed and quartered
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees/gas 4. Lightly coat chicken in olive oil, and season it well. Heat a frying pan and when it is almost smoking, add the chicken, skin side down.
Cook for three minutes, turn over and cook for another three minutes. Transfer to the oven and roast for 10 minutes. Remove and cover loosely with tin foil. Add the spinach to the pan and toss in the hot juices until it just starts to wilt. Add the garlic, toss again, then remove and keep it warm. Add the wine to the pan, along with capers and peppercorns, and boil. Reduce by half and season.
Slice each of the breasts on the diagonal and place on top of the wilted spinach. Spoon wine juices over it, along with the capers and green peppercorns, and serve with a lemon quarter and a generous drizzle of olive oil.
POT-ROAST POUSSIN
4 poussin
olive oil
1 glass port
2 tbsp finely chopped shallot
1 tbsp butter
50g chicken livers, trimmed and cut into 1cms
1 tbsp double cream
1 glass brandy
1 glass red wine
4 slices of french bread, toasted
Rub a few tablespoons of olive oil into the birds, massaging it gently into the skin. Season them well and colour in a heavy casserole over a moderate heat. Turn the birds breast side up, cover and pot-roast for 10 minutes.
Remove from heat, cut breasts and legs away from the carcasses and place in a shallow heated dish. Sprinkle with two tablespoons of the port and cover with tin foil. Transfer to a very low oven and allow to rest. While the birds are cooking, sauté a tablespoon of shallot in the butter for five minutes, without colouring. Add the chicken livers and sauté gently for two minutes. Mash with a fork, incorporating the cream and a seasoning of salt and pepper. Roughly chop the carcasses and return to the roasting pot with the final tablespoon of shallot. Toss everything well for five minutes over a moderate heat.
Add the brandy and remaining port and reduce by half, then add the red wine and reduce by three-quarters. Strain into a clean saucepan and whisk in half of the liver mixture over a low heat. Spread the remaining liver mixture on the four slices of toast. Place the poussin breasts on top, legs to the side, and spoon the sauce over them.