8 meals from one chicken
Our organic, free range chickens are the talk of the town. Well, that may
be going a tad far, but we get loads of calls about how delicious they are,
and at the 2005 Taste of the West Awards, our chickens, which we get from
Rona and Nevil Amiss at Higher Fingle Farm in Devon, went home with a Gold
Award. So, they're pretty tasty birds.
Our foodie's a big fan of them, not only for their taste, but for their
great value. You can get eight good-sized dishes – four meals for two – out
of a single 1.4kg bird – costing a mere £9.79. and, if you make the suggested
homemade chicken stock, the goodness from your bird will keep giving.
Lemon Basil Roast Chicken Breasts
Mango Chicken Salad, using the remaining meat from the chicken crown (there's always a lot more than you’d ever expect)
Moroccan Tagine with Chicken and Dates, using the legs and thighs
A Lemony Risotto, using homemade stock
You'll have leftover stock for the freezer, which you can use as a base for other soups, stews, rice or pasta dishes
Not bad for less than a tenner!
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This is the ultimate convenience food. The only tricky bit is removing the legs and thighs from the bird. Once you have the hang of this, the rest is as easy as removing the film from a ready meal. All you have to do is slather the bird with salted butter, squeeze a bit of lemon over, shove a handful of herbs and garlic into the cavity and your work is done. Serves 2, plus leftovers.
- 1 1.4kg chicken
- 50g salted butter, at room temperature
- 1 unwaxed lemon
- 5 garlic cloves, peeled
- A handful of fresh basil leaves and stalks (or you can use fresh thyme and/or rosemary)
Preheat the oven to 220C/gas mark 7.
Carve the legs and thighs from the raw bird. To do this, gently pull leg at its knee joint away from the body. You’ll see a thick fold of skin between the inner thigh and the body. Cut through this, using a sharp knife, or preferably sharp kitchen scissors. You should see where leg and thigh naturally separate from the body. Give it a gently pull away from the body and then pull a bit harder to pop the leg from the hipbone. Use the scissors or knife to cut through the joint, behind the bone and continue to carve until the leg and thigh (keep together) are removed. Ensure you wash your hands thoroughly after this process. Save these for the Moroccan tagine (or another) recipe.
Slather the bird with butter, inside and out. Halve the lemon and squeeze juice over the top of the bird, then insert both lemon halves. Crush the garlic cloves and insert into the cavity, along with the handful of herbs.
Pop in the oven and roast for 15-20 minutes, or until the skin starts to golden – you want it nicely bronzed before turning the heat down to 180C/gas mark 4. Basting bird occasionally, roast for 45 minutes or until you can prick the thickest part of the breast with a knife and the juices run clear. Once cooked, turn off the heat, leave the door ajar and allow to rest in the oven for another 15 minutes before carving (this will help the bird retain its juices).
Starting at the head of the bird, carve each breast away from the bone and serve warm, with a heap of buttery mash and with the juices accumulated in bottom of the pan.
Once you’ve eaten you dinner. Tackle the meat left clinging to the carcass. Ensure you strip the meat from the wings and from beneath the bird, there will be a lot more meat than you’d ever imagine. For a 1.6kg bird, you should end up with a mug full of meat, which is the perfect amount for the Mango Chicken Salad recipe below.
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This is just one recipe you can apply to the leftover meat from a roast chicken. Soups, pies and sandwich fillings are other options. Serves 2
- 1 small (or ½ large) ripe mango
- 1 small (or ½ large) ripe avocado
- 4 large handfuls fresh spinach, preferably baby leaf spinach
- 1 small handful torn basil leaves
- A mug full of leftover roast chicken meat
- 2 tbsp pinenuts, toasted
- 2 pinches of sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- A glug of olive oil
- 2 drizzles of balsamic vinegar
Cut the mango into 1inch hunks. Do the same with the avocado. Roughly chop the spinach. Place these three ingredients in a bowl. Add the chicken, pinenuts and basil. Sprinkle in the salt and pepper. Drizzle over the olive oil and give the salad a good mix with your hands. Divide between two plates and finish each with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar. Serve immediately.
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This is a lovely way to employ the legs and thighs from a whole chicken. It serves two quite generously, if you have children, you can easily eek out a portion or two more for them. Serves 2
- 2 chicken quarters (leg and thigh), separate if serving more than two
- Sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 onion
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter
- A pinch of saffron
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 tsp grated fresh ginger
- 2 handfuls roughly chopped coriander
- 8 whole dates, stones removed
- A handful flaked almonds, toasted (to garnish)
Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Peel and grate the onion. Melt the butter in a casserole pot or a tagine. Add the onion, saffron, cinnamon, ginger and a handful of the coriander; season with salt and stir over a high heat for 2 minutes. Add the chicken and cook for 5 minutes, just long enough to allow the spices to penetrate the skin. Pour enough water to just cover the chicken. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and then simmer until the chicken is tender, about 45 minutes. Check often to ensure the chicken doesn’t stick. Add more water, if necessary.
Once the chicken is cooked, remove it from the pot so you can make the sauce. Skim the fat from the liquid , taste for salt and adjust as needed. Add the dates and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Return the chicken to the pot and cook for 5-10 minutes, long enough to reheat the chicken.
Once ready, arrange each chicken quarter onto a bed of couscous. Pour the sauce over the meat and finish with fresh coriander and the toasted almond flakes.
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You could add leftover roast chicken to this dish. Serves 4, as a main course
- 1 ½ litres homemade chicken stock (below)
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium (2 small) onion(s), chopped
- 300g arborio risotto rice
- 100ml dry white wine
- 5oz freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- A generous handful of freshly chopped basil (or your favourite soft, green herb – watercress is also nice, and punchy)
- Juice and peel from one unwaxed lemon
Bring stock to a simmer in large saucepan over medium heat. Reduce heat to low; cover to keep warm. Melt half the butter with oil in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add onions and sauté until tender, about 6 minutes. Add the rice; stir for 1 minute. Add the wine and stir until evaporated, about 30 seconds. Add 300ml of the hot stock; simmer until absorbed, stirring frequently. Add remaining broth 100ml at a time, allowing broth to be absorbed before adding more and stirring frequently until rice is creamy and tender, about 35 minutes. Stir in cheese and the remaining 2 tbsp butter. Stir in basil, lemon juice, and lemon peel. Season with salt and pepper. Divide between bowls and serve immediately.
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Making chicken stock is really, really simple and worthwhile. I always have batches (frozen into ice cubes) in the freezer for use in soups, stews and rice.
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 leek
- 2 organic carrots
- 2-3 celery ribs
- 1 onion
- ½ cinnamon stick (optional)
- 1 roast chicken carcass, flesh removed
- A handful fresh parsley, with stalks
- A few (6 or so) black peppercorns
Wash, trim and roughly chop leek into 1inch hunks. Wash again to ensure you remove all the dirt from the leeks. Wash and roughly chop the carrots and celery, also into 1inch hunks. Peel the onion and cut into 6-8 wedges.
Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed casserole pot. Add the vegetables and cinnamon stick (if using) and sauté over a medium heat for 5-10 minutes, stirring frequently. The idea is to sweat the vegetables and to release their aroma.
Add the chicken carcass and the peppercorns and give a stir to nestle the carcass into the bed of vegetables. Put the lid over the pot and steam for 1 minutes. Remove lid and cover completely with water.
Bring to the boil. Skim off any fat. Lower the heat to the lowest setting and simmer for 1 hour. Allow to set, uncover, for a further 30-45minutes, allowing the flavours to further infuse while the stock is cooling. Strain into a clean pan, discarding carcass (you can use the veggies as a side dish, or in a soup, if you like). Decant stock into plastic (don’t use glass as the stock will expand if you plan to freeze it – and it could crack from the heat if it’s a bit cool) containers. Note: plastic Chinese take-away boxes work a treat for storing stock.
Refrigerate, once fully cooled, if you plan to use it within 24 hours. Otherwise, freeze it and it you want a really clear stock, use the Heston Blumenthal method of clarifying it by simply placing the frozen stock cubes/block in a muslin-lined colander and allowing it to thaw, slowly, at a cool room temperature.
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