Serves 4

Ingredients: 

500g carnaroli rice

4 boneless chicken thighs

300g Girolle or mixed wild mushrooms

10g Tarragon

1 onion (finely diced)

2 sticks celery (finely diced)

125ml white wine

1.2ltr Chicken stock 

5g parsley

1 clove of garlic finely chopped

150g butter 

200g grated parmesan 

1 lemon

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180deg C.

Start by removing the skin from the chicken thighs and lay the skins on a baking tray in between two pieces of parchment paper and season well. Place another baking try on top and roast in the oven for 10-15 mins or until crispy.

Next empty the stock into a small pan and place on a low heat to keep warm.

Now start the risotto base by sweating the onion and celery in a little olive oil on a low heat for 4-5 mins.

When the veg is soft and a little translucent, add the rice and coat in the oil, add the white wine and cook out until most of it has evaporated.

Now slowly add the warm stock one ladle at a time stirring all the time until it’s all been incorporated, check for seasoning and also to check the consistency of the rice, if it’s still a little underdone, add some warm water until it’s cooked to your liking.

Now finish the seasoning by adding the butter and parmesan and mix thoroughly, season with salt and pepper and tarragon and keep warm.

Now place a pan on a medium high heat and season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper, place in the pan and place some greaseproof paper on top and put a heavy pan on top to press them down, this will get the thighs nice and crispy and golden, cook on one side for 7-8 mins then flip over and after 2 mins add the mushrooms and continue to cook on a high heat, add a couple of knobs of butter and season well. When the chicken is cooked squeeze over a little lemon juice and add some chopped tarragon and you're ready to go.

Put the dish together by adding the risotto to the bowl, add the chicken thigh and spoon over some of the cooked mushrooms. Garnish with some pieces of crispy chicken skin and serve.

serves 4-5 

Ingredients: 

1.5-2kg whole chicken 

1 jar of Bold Bean Co. Chickpeas

200g purple sprouting broccoli

50g kale (stalks removed) 

1 red onion (finely sliced)

1 head of baby gem lettuce (leaves separated & washed)

For the Caesar Dressing:

600g mayonnaise 

60g confit garlic puree (see recipe below)

1 raw garlic clove

100g grated parmesan 

1 emon zest & juice)

2 fillets anchovy (drained)

1 tsp capers

1 tsp honey

100ml water

salt & pepper to taste  

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180 deg C.

Take the chicken out of the fridge  30 minutes before roasting. Season the chicken well with oil, salt and pepper 

Roast the chicken for an 1 ½ hour. A 2kg bird will take approx 1 and 20 mins mins (40 mins per kilo), see below for internal temperatures.

Meanwhile as the chicken is roasting prepare the vegetables and dressing. For the dressing, put all the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. Keep this in a fridge, it will keep for 10 days in a sealed container.

Prep the broccoli by trimming the lower end of the stalks and blanching in boiling salted water for 2-3 mins. Drain and run under cold water to stop the cooking. Put into a tray and add the drained chickpeas.

Add the kale to a roasting tray and drizzle with some oil and salt and pepper and roast in the oven for 5-7 mins until crispy.

Next check the chicken, use a probe to get the best results. The internal temperature after resting should be 75 degrees C minimum so I take out the chicken when it’s 72 degrees C and then while it's resting keep checking the temperature until it's climbed to 75 deg C. 

To accurately take the temperature, put the probe in at the most dense part of the breast at a 45 degree angle and leave for 1-2 minutes.

Add a small amount of water and olive oil to the tray of broccoli and chicken peas and cover with foil and heat it in the oven for 5-6 mins until warm. Add them to a bowl with the red onion and little gem lettuce leaves. Dress with the caesar sauce quite generously.

Serve in a large bowl and add the crispy kale on top along with an extra drizzle of the caesar sauce.

Now to carve the chicken:

I carve it by separating all the individual joints and slicing the breast off the bone.

Start by taking off the legs and find the joint which separates the drum from the thigh and cut through.

Remove the wings and split in two, separating the wing flat from the drumette. 

Now remove the wishbone as this will make it easier to remove the breasts and run a knife down the middle of the breast bone and take both breasts off the carcass and slice into 5 or 6 slices.

Keep the carcass as it can make good soup and stock.  

Serve all together along with the warm salad and pour over some of the roasting tray resting juices.  

Serves 4-5 

Ingredients: 

5-6  boneless skinless chicken thighs

500g orzo pasta 

1 large onion (finely chopped)

2 cloves garlic (finely chopped)

1ltr of chicken stock (true foods)

100g cherry tomatoes

1 bag of baby spinach

125ml of white wine

100ml double cream

50g grated parmesan

25g butter

Salt & pepper

Spice rub for the chicken:

1 tbsp of dried oregano

1 tsp smoked paprika

½ tsp chilli flakes (you can leave out if you're cooking for the children)

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp black pepper

Method:

Pre heat the oven to 180 deg C.

Start by mixing all the ingredients for the spice rub for the chicken together and rub all over the chicken thighs.

Put a large pan on a medium heat and add a little olive oil. When hot, sear the chicken all over. Once they get colour all over, remove the chicken thighs and put them in an oven tray and bake in the oven for 15 mins.

At the same time put the cherry tomatoes in a small oven tray covered with a little olive oil and salt and pepper and roast in the oven for the same amount of time as the chicken.

With the same pan that you used for the chicken, add the butter and add the finely chopped onion and garlic and a pinch of salt and cook on a low heat for 5-10 mins.

Then add the orzo pasta and coat in the oil, add the stock and a good pinch of salt. Bring to the boil and then reduce the heat to a medium heat and cook for 7-8 mins. After this time add in the cream, parmesan, roast tomatoes and spinach and stir together, check for seasoning and then place the cooked chicken on top and leave to simmer for another 5 mins until most of the moisture is gone. Turn off the heat and leave to rest for 5-7 mins.

Serve with some more grated parmesan and chopped parsley.

Method:

Start by cooking the chicken.

Take a large enough pot to hold the chicken and fill it ¾ of the way with cold water. Bring to a boil.

When boiling add the chicken, roughly chopped ginger, garlic and spring onion and salt and bring back to the boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 45-55 mins depending on the size of your chicken. Cook to an internal temperature of 73 degrees and then remove to cool and rest. 

Method:

Pre heat the oven to 180deg C.

Dice the sweet potato, onion and peppers into similar size pieces ( around and inch) and place in a baking dish.

Add the chicken legs on top and mix everything together so it’s coated in the Piri Piri marinade.

Bring the legs back to the top of the dish, skin side up and bake in the oven for around 40-45 mins. Stirring the veg occasionally.