Bread Sauce

You can’t get a more English accompaniment to a roast fowl than bread sauce.  I suppose in the old days it was a way of making the chicken, turkey or goose going a little further.

My dear friend Latifa was staying with us, and on her last day in wet dreary London before she flew off to Hong Kong, I thought I’d cook a traditional Sunday roast…chicken, potatoes roasted in goose fat, cabbage with pancetta and of course bread sauce.

I first cooked bread sauce for Latifa one Christmas and she absolutely loved it.

I always remember helping my father cook the Sunday lunch, and one of my jobs was bread sauce.  I really cannot stress how super easy this is to make, and really is a welcome addition to any Sunday lunch table.

Here’s what you need for lunch for 6:

Fresh breadcrumbs – white or brown, whatever you happen to have

Half an onion

Handful of whole cloves

2 or 3 bay leaves

Handful of whole black peppercorns

Pinch of mace

1 pint milk

Here’s what to do:

Stud half an onion with the whole cloves

Pour milk into saucepan

Add bay leaves, peppercorns and mace

Cover and bring the milk to the boil, and then take the saucepan off the heat, keeping the lid on so that all the flavours infuse into the milk.

Put the bread into a food processor and whizz into breadcrumbs, this will take no more than 10 seconds.

Towards the end of the preparation of your roast, the bread sauce is one of the last things you will need to do.

Remove the onion, peppercorns, bay and mace from the milk.  Add the breadcrumbs and stir in, and pop over a low heat to warm through, et voila…it is ready to serve with your glorious roast chicken….and of course with love…xoxo….

Anna's Roast Chicken

My dear friend Anna, is a super busy full time TV executive and full time yummy mummy.  I admire her strength and diligence day in and day out, as I watch her juggle her career, with motherhood as well as running a home.

Darling Anna cooked myself and our friends this roast chicken one Christmas, (whilst holding a baby), and ever since then I often cook it in my own household, and everyone knows it fondly as “Anna’s Roast Chicken”.  We love it’s tasty, crispy skin!

Here’s what to use:

1 medium sized organic free range corn fed chicken

1 head of garlic

1 chopped red chilli, seeds included

2 lemons, quartered

1 glass of dry white wine

A few sprigs of fresh rosemary

A handful of green olives olive chopped in half

A few good slug of light soy sauce

A good slug of extra virgin olive oil

Marinade the chicken in the above for as long as possible, preferably overnight. 

Heat your oven up full whack.

When you’re ready to cook the bird, make sure you take it out of the fridge about 15 minutes before cooking time to warm up a little.

As I said to you before, place the bird breast down in the roasting pan.  Scatter the lemons, chillies, olives, herbs and garlic around the bird.  You may think that they have done their job during the marinating time, however, they continue to flavour the pan juices when the bird is cooking.

Now do not let anything lie on the skin, as it will leave an unsightly white mark on the skin when it eventually falls off - just like our summer tans, we want a lovely, evenly coloured golden skin.

As soon as you put the chicken in, turn the temperature down to 200 degrees Celsius.

After half and hour, turn the bird over so the breast is on the top, and baste the breast, legs and wings liberally.

The bird should only take about another 60 or 70 minutes, so baste it generously every half and hour…..it really really does make all the difference.

Remember to leave the bird to rest for 15 minutes covered in foil, to allow the bird to rest, which makes it become even juicier.  Carve the bird, and pour the juices over the breast meat.  The meat is so juicy it doesn't even need gravy!

Serve with roast potatoes, and a medley of steamed greens….

….and of course with love…xoxo

Tarragon & Dijon Roasted Chicken

A good old fashioned roast chicken is a beautiful thing.  There are many ways to roast a chicken, and this is one of my favourites.  This is super simple and easy to prepare, and doesn’t need much attending to, as it only needs be basted every half an hour.

Here’s what I used:

1 organic free range corn fed chicken

2 tbsp olive oil

2 heaped tsp Dijon mustard

2 tbsp of dried tarragon

Pinch of sea salt

4 good twists of black pepper

Pre-heat your oven to 200 degrees celcius.

Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl, using a small whisk or fork.  The oil and mustard will thicken nicely, which is exactly what we want.

Coat the entire chicken with the mustardy mixture, inside and out, and even under the skin on the breast.

A Moroccan lady once imparted some pure wisdom onto me, and told me that it is important to start cooking the bird breast-side down in the roasting pan this way as it helps to keep the breast meat juicy.  I suppose it makes perfect sense as the juices generally run downwards.  I have cooked roast chicken in this manner ever since, and it has never failed to be succulent and juicy.  This is very important, as there is nothing worse than dry chicken.

After 30 minutes turn the bird over, and baste liberally with the pan juices.

After another 30 minutes baste the bird liberally again.

In another 30 minutes the bird should be cooked.  Check by sticking a skewer into the fattest part of the leg, and check that the juices run clear.

Cover the bird in foil to keep it warm, and leave it to rest for 10 minutes.

I like to serve this with braised pointed spring cabbage

and perfect roast potatoes…..

………..and of course with love….xoxo