Braised chicken with grapes and verjuice

Serves 4

A bumper harvest of grapes is predicted this year. This throw-in-the-pot dish makes use of them, and verjuice (the liquid from unfermented grapes). — 2 tbsp duck fat or

vegetable oil

— 1 medium (2kg) chicken,

jointed

— 150ml verjuice

— 500g small red potatoes (larger ones can be cut into halves or quarters) — 300-400ml chicken stock — olive oil, for brushing — 300g bunch of red or white grapes, snipped into 4 bunches

To serve

— 200ml thick yogurt

— 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil — 1 tbsp fresh dill fronds Preheat the oven to 160C/gas mark 3.

Place an ovenproof casserole over a medium-high heat and add the duck fat or oil.

Pat the chicken joints dry with kitchen paper then fry them, skin-side down and in batches if necessary, until lightly browned. Turn them over and fry for another minute, then turn the heat down, sprinkle over a teaspoon each of sea salt and black pepper, and add the verjuice and the red potatoes, tucking them in around the chicken.

Add enough stock to come three quarters of the way up to the surface of the chicken then put the dish in the oven, uncovered, to slow roast.

After 40 minutes, brush the olive oil on to the grapes, then add these to the pan so they sit on top of the chicken.

Cook for another 20 minutes or until the chicken is tender when pierced with a knife and the potatoes are cooked through. If the chicken is a little pale in colour, set the grapes aside and turn on the grill setting to let the bird brown a little more.

Put the yogurt in a bowl and add the olive oil and dill – give a quick stir then serve this with the chicken, grapes and potatoes. Spiced buttered squash, with green chutney and chapattis Serves 6

A soul-warming vegetable mash, perfect for an autumn supper on cooler nights. The chapattis are easy to make yourself, but you can cheat if you wish.

For the chapattis

— 130g wheatmeal flour (or a 50:50 mix of wholemeal and white flour)

For the green chutney

— a large handful of baby leaf spinach

— 20g mint leaves

— 40g coriander leaves

— 1 tsp ground cumin

— 1-2 green chillies, deseeded

— 300ml thick Greek yogurt

For the buttered squash

— 1 large butternut or acorn squash, deseeded and cut into thick slices

— 2 tbsp vegetable oil

— 100g butter

— 1 tbsp chopped garlic

— 1 tbsp grated ginger — 2-4 green chillies, deseeded

and finely sliced

— 1 tsp ground cinnamon

— 1 tsp ground cardamom

— 20 cherry tomatoes, halved To make the chapatti dough, put the flour in a bowl. Measure out 120ml of water and add almost all of it to the flour to make a soft dough – add the rest if it seems dry. Knead for a few minutes then divide into six balls. Put on a plate, cover with cling film and place in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200C/gas mark 6.

Blitz all the green chutney ingredients together with half a teaspoon of salt in a food processor then set aside.

Brush the squash slices with oil then roast them until soft – about 30 minutes. Remove the flesh from the skin and roughly chop it. Leave the oven on for the chapattis, and have ready a baking sheet.

Melt the butter in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for one minute, then add the chillies, spices and tomatoes. Cook for another minute then add the squash, mashing it lightly with the other ingredients. Keep it warm while you make the chapattis.

Roll each dough ball out into a thin circle or oval no more than ½cm thick and about the size of a dinner plate, and store under a damp towel.

Heat a heavy-based frying pan over a medium-to-high heat. Put in one chapatti and brown it on one side for about one minute. Turn it, brown the other side, then place the chapatti on the baking sheet. Repeat with the others, placing them side by side on the tray, then bake for about five minutes until puffed. Keep them warm in a basket covered with a cloth.

To eat, tear off some chapatti, spoon a heap of the squash mash on top, and serve with the chutney.