CHICKEN CRACKLING
Remove the skins from the thighs and pat dry with kitchen paper. Sprinkle them with sea salt and leave in the fridge overnight, this will help dry the skins and give a crispier crackling when cooking. Place on a tray lined with baking paper and season with black pepper. Place another sheet of baking paper on top and weigh down with another baking tray or tin to stop them curling during cooking. Bake in a hot oven for about 15 minutes, remove the paper, turn them over, cover again and bake for a further 10 minutes. Remove the paper and check on the skins, continue to bake until crispy and golden, about 30 minutes in total.
These are delicious with a chilli dipping sauce or tangy lemon mayonnaise, simply add a squeeze of fresh lemon and some fresh ground black pepper to the mayonnaise.
A whole chicken is a much more economical buy. As there isn’t much meat on the wings, cut them off beforehand and use them to make a broth by boiling in a lidded saucepan with a little water, this then becomes a flavourful stock or a base for soups by adding onion, garlic, celery, carrots, seasoning and herbs, then add pulses or grains such as pearl barley and some leafy greens.
SPRING ROAST CHICKEN
Tarragon is a herb which compliments chicken perfectly and is readily available in the fresh herb section at larger supermarkets.
Pat the skin dry with kitchen paper and smear a little butter over the thighs and breast to protect from drying. Stuff the cavity with ½ onion. ½ lemon, 3 garlic cloves, 1 bay leaf, a small bunch of tarragon, sprig of thyme and a little butter. Roast for about 1 hour 20 mins, depending on size, if the leg is wobbly when pulled from the body and juices are clear, it is cooked. Allow to rest before serving. Don’t throw the juices away!
JERSEY ROYAL SMASH
This is a recipe using those chicken cooking juices, once settled, skim off the top fatty layer. Par boil new season scrubbed potatoes for about ten minutes until just tender. Strain and then very slightly break up with a potato masher. Heat the fat from the roast chicken in the base of a baking tray in a hot oven, then toss the potatoes in the fat and return to the oven, roast for about 20 minutes until crisped up and finish with fresh ground black pepper and finely chopped spring onions to serve.
SALSA VERDE
Perfect with roast chicken. This would serve 4, quantities can be easily halved.
1 small pack each of tarragon and flat leaf parsley
30g wild garlic (or 2 garlic cloves)
1 tsp sea salt
3 tsp Dijon mustard
40g capers (from a jar) drained, rinsed and chopped
200 ml extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp cider vinegar or lemon juice.
Chop everything finely and gradually add the salt, oil, mustard and vinegar. Leftover chicken is perfect tossed in salsa verde, chopped salad ingredients and bulghur wheat or quinoa. Quinoa is nutritious and a good gluten free substitute for couscous or grains.
My rolled leg of lamb roast recipe does have quite a long list of ingredients, dried herbs instead of fresh and less fruit (such as the dates) and nuts can be used if ingredients are in sparce supply. It’s worth the time and effort of this dish for a special Easter Sunday roast. The stuffing ingredients are ample and make a perfect combination to use in stuffed aubergine and pepper for non-meat eaters, top with extra chopped onion and feta.
ROLLED LEG OF LAMB ROAST
Leg of lamb, deboned and butterflied
Coarse sea salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
1 tbsp dried thyme
5 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
1 tbsp grated lemon zest
4 tbsp oil
4 tbsp butter
Handful finely chopped dates, about 10
Handful chopped wild garlic or baby spinach
4 tsp chopped spring onions
3 tbsp finely chopped fresh rosemary
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh thyme
1 cup chopped nuts, mixture of unsalted cashew nuts and walnuts works
well ½ block of feta
Handful, about 15 dried apricots, chopped
2 tsp finely chopped chillies
10 pitted black olives chopped
Score a diamond pattern on the fatty side of the lamb, then rub in the salt, pepper, dried thyme, half the garlic, lemon zest and oil. Turn the leg over and using a sharp knife make 10 slits of 1cm deep and stuff the date pieces into each slit. Melt 2tbsp of the butter in a frying pan and saute the wild garlic, spring onions, half the rosemary and fresh thyme, reduce the heat and stir in the nuts, feta, apricots, chillies and olives. Leave to cool then spread the filling over the meat, leaving a small border. Then toll it up and tie with string, just tight enough to keep together.
Wrap in clingfilm and rest in fridge for about 3 hours.
Remove from fridge and bring to room temperature for a few hours before cooking. Heat the remaining butter in a pan to brown the meat on all sides , adding the remaining rosemary, thyme and garlic while you do so. Place in an ovenproof dish, cover and roast in a hot oven for approximately 1 ½ hours, roast uncovered for the last 20 minutes.
Lift out of the oven, cover and leave the meat to rest before slicing.