A Spring Chicken

This was an impromptu dish I created on Easter Sunday. Not knowing what to cook till last minute, I turned to my own cookbook Salt and Time and have reworked my favourite winter chicken dish into a spring one. The result was more than satisfactory, so this has become our new staple Sunday chicken dish this Spring!

Serve it with a simple new potato salad & some bitter leafs dressed in a mustard&honey vinaigrette

Watch the cooking video on my IGTV channel.

Ingredients

Serves 2-4

2 tbsp of oil for frying

4 chicken thighs or legs

50g of unsalted butter

6 banana shallots, sliced in half lengthways

1/2 cup of white wine

1/2 cup of chicken stock

1 tbsp of Herbs de Provence

1 cup of frozen peas

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Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a large oven-proof pan, and fry the chicken skin down for 5 minutes to achieve a nice golden colour. Remove the chicken from the pan onto a plate and set aside while you make the sauce.

Melt 50g of butter in the same pan and as the butter starts to bubble and the halved shallots cut side down. Fry for 5 minutes or until almost all the butter is absorbed. Deglaze the pan with the white wine and let the alcohol evaporate by raising the heat for a minute. At this point your kitchen will be filled with the most intoxicating scent! Make sure to have a glass of wine on the side for yourself.

Next, add the chicken stock and herbs and reduce the stock on high heat for 2-3 minutes.

Add the chicken pieces back to the pan, crispy skin up, and place in a pre-heated oven at 200C. Cook uncovered for 20 minutes until the juices run clear when pierced with a tooth pick. Add the frozen peas 5 minutes before your timer goes off, so that they can defrost but not overcook, and add a vibrant touch of Spring greenness to the dish!