Poached chicken, chive and preserved lemon finger sandwiches

We have been making these sandwiches for years and whenever there is a party we are always called upon to bring our famous chicken sandwiches with us. They make a great addition to a canape menu as they can be made in advance and kept in the fridge until just before you need to serve them. The key is to make sure that there is plenty of filling — noone likes a bready sandwich. It should be all about the filling and the bread should just hold it all together. Walnuts add extra crunch, so feel free to add some, if you wish. We make up loads of these, as one is simply never enough.

Makes 18

4 mediumsized freerange

chicken thighs flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 1⁄4 cup mayonnaise small bunch chives, finely chopped small bunch parsley, finely chopped 3 stalks celery, very finely sliced juice of 1 lemon

1 preserved lemon, skin only,

finely chopped butter, softened, for spreading 12 slices very fresh sandwich bread

Method

Heat a saucepan of water and bring to the boil.

Add the chicken thighs along with a bit of salt and pepper. Bring back to the boil and then simmer gently for about 6 minutes, or until just cooked through. Remove and set aside to cool.

In a bowl, mix the mayonnaise with the chives, parsley, celery, lemon juice, preserved lemon and salt and pepper. Cut the chicken into small pieces and then mix with the mayo mixture. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary; the sandwich filling needs to be really flavoursome, as the bread will dull the flavour.

Butter the bread and then top six slices with the chicken mixture. Top with remaining bread slices, cut the crusts off the sandwiches and then cut each sandwich into three fingers. Put on a platter so that the filling is displayed.

Cover with a damp tea towel and place in the fridge until ready to serve. (The tea towel will keep the bread fresh and soft.)

Remove the sandwiches from the fridge half an hour before serving to allow them to come up to room temperature.