CHICKEN AND AVOCADO SALAD WITH BASIL AND PARMESAN DRESSING

You can bulk up this fabulous spring salad with other veggies, such as blanched broccoli florets or sliced cucumber. It also demonstrates the best way to cook a chicken breast to keep it nice and juicy – seared in a hot pan and then finished in a low oven. Skin-on chicken breasts make all the difference. SERVES 2 PREPARE 10 MINUTES COOK 35 MINUTES

2 large skin-on chicken breasts (about 200g each)

2 tbsp olive oil juice of ½ lemon

¼ tsp sweet smoked paprika 1 garlic clove, crushed

2 tbsp pumpkin seeds

2 little gem lettuces, leaves separated

1 avocado, sliced

BASIL AND PARMESAN DRESSING

4 tbsp Greek strained yogurt zest of ½ lemon

15 basil leaves, plus extra leaves to serve

10g finely grated parmesan, plus extra shavings to serve

Preheat the oven to 150C/ 130C fan/gas 2. Place the chicken breasts in a resealable food bag with the oil, lemon juice, paprika and garlic. Season with salt and pepper then massage the marinade into the chicken. Set aside for at least 15 minutes, or up to 12 hours.

Meanwhile, place the pumpkin seeds on a small baking tray and roast for 15 minutes until turning golden and starting to pop. Set aside until ready to serve.

Heat a medium, ovenproof frying pan over a medium-high heat. When hot, add the chicken breasts to the pan, skin-side down, and fry for 5 minutes, pressing them down from time to time to help brown the skin evenly all over. Turn and fry on the flesh side for 2 minutes, then transfer the pan to the oven for 12 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pan and leave to rest for 10 minutes on a chopping board.

Meanwhile, make the dressing by whizzing 2 tbsp yogurt, the lemon zest, basil and parmesan with a pinch of salt and pepper in a small blender or food processor until smooth. Stir in the remaining 2 tbsp yogurt.

Arrange the lettuce and avocado on plates. Slice the chicken and arrange over the top, spooning over any cooking juices from the frying pan (warm them through if needed).

Spoon over the basil and parmesan dressing and scatter with the roasted pumpkin seeds, parmesan shavings and extra basil leaves to serve.

Zest the lemon into the blender or food processor before you squeeze out the juice to use in the chicken marinade.

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SESAME-CRUSTED CHICKEN WITH PEA AND RADISH SALAD Coating chicken breasts in a golden sesame crumb is a great way to ensure they don’t dry out during cooking. Usually recipes call for frying breadcrumbed chicken, but baking is easier, less messy and requires less oil or butter for cooking. SERVES 2 PREPARE 20 MINUTES COOK 25 MINUTES

SESAME-CRUSTED CHICKEN 2 skinless chicken breasts (about 150g each)

40g panko breadcrumbs 50g white sesame seeds

1 tbsp plain flour

1 large egg

1 tsp toasted sesame oil

2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

PEA AND RADISH SALAD 100g fresh or frozen garden peas 100g radishes, finely sliced 100g sugar snap peas, sliced 2 tbsp natural yogurt

1 tbsp mayonnaise

1 tsp wholegrain mustard

½ tsp red or white wine vinegar

Preheat the oven to 200C/ 180C fan/gas 6. Line a medium baking tray with baking parchment. Place the chicken breasts between 2 sheets of clingfilm or baking parchment and use a rolling pin to flatten them out to an even 1cm thickness all over. Season with salt and pepper.

Mix the panko breadcrumbs and sesame seeds on a plate. Place the flour on a separate plate. Lightly beat the egg and sesame oil in a shallow bowl.

One at a time, dust the chicken breasts with the flour. Next dip in the egg mixture, and finally coat in the sesame breadcrumbs, pressing them firmly on to the chicken to evenly cover.

Place the chicken on the lined baking tray. Spoon over 1 tbsp melted butter and bake for 10 minutes. Turn the chicken, spoon over the remaining butter and bake for another 15 minutes until golden all over.

Meanwhile, make the salad. Simmer the peas in a pan of boiling water for 2 minutes, then drain and toss with the radishes and sugar snaps.

Mix the yogurt, mayonnaise, mustard and vinegar together for the dressing and season to taste.

Serve the chicken with the salad, spooning over the dressing.

You can breadcrumb the chicken up to 12 hours in advance and chill until ready to bake. Drizzle with the butter just before popping in the oven.

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SLOW-ROAST STICKY SOY AND MANDARIN CHICKEN If you have never slow-roasted a chicken before, now is the time. A lower oven temperature, a longer cooking time and a sticky soy-based marinade yields fantastically tender breast meat, juicy thigh meat and dark, lacquered skin. Make sure to use a waxy variety of potato so it can stand up to the long cooking time too. SERVES 4-6 PREPARE 25 MINUTES COOK 2 HOURS 30 MINUTES

1.7kg whole chicken

8 mandarins

1 tbsp English mustard powder 3 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp soft light brown sugar 800g small, waxy potatoes (such as charlotte)

1 garlic bulb, halved horizontally 4 spring onions, thinly sliced

Preheat the oven to 150C/ 130C fan/gas 2. Season the chicken inside and out with fine salt and set aside for 30 minutes to come to room temperature.

Meanwhile, squeeze the juice from 6 mandarins (you want 150ml juice in total) into a medium saucepan. Whisk in the mustard powder, soy sauce and sugar. Set over a high heat, bring to the boil and simmer vigorously for about 6 minutes or until reduced by half. Cool for a couple of minutes.

Arrange the potatoes and halved garlic bulb in the base of a large roasting dish. Brush the chicken all over with the marinade, then sit into the dish, spreading the potatoes around the edges as much as you can (so they aren’t covered by the chicken). Spoon over any remaining marinade. Roast for 2 hours 30 minutes, basting the chicken and potatoes in the cooking juices every 45 minutes.

Lift the chicken out of the pan, tilting it to allow any juices to trickle back into the pan. Rest on a plate for 15 minutes. Turn the oven up to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Halve the remaining mandarins, nestle in the pan with the potatoes and return to the oven for 5-10 minutes until the potatoes are nicely caramelised.

Carve the chicken, adding any carving juices to the gravy and serve in the roasting dish or on a platter with the potatoes, sprinkled with the spring onions.

Serve with a bowl of steamed greens to accompany. You can also omit the potatoes and serve the chicken sliced and shredded, a bit like crispy Peking duck, with Chinese pancakes and sliced cucumber and spring onions. It makes a fun family meal.

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CHICKEN BRAISED IN TURMERIC AND COCONUT MILK This is a gloriously simple one-pan dish that can easily be scaled up to serve more people – just add a couple more chicken thighs to serve 3, or double the recipe to serve 4. SERVES 2 PREPARE 20 MINUTES COOK 1 HOUR 15 MINUTES

1 tbsp sunflower oil

4 skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs

1 onion, peeled and thickly sliced into rings

25g fresh root ginger, peeled and cut into matchsticks

1 tsp ground turmeric 400g can coconut milk

2 tbsp fish sauce

200g tenderstem broccoli, ends trimmed

1 red chilli, sliced steamed rice, to serve

Heat the oil in a large frying or sauté pan over a medium-high heat. Season the chicken thighs with salt and black pepper then fry, skin side down, for 6-8 minutes or until the skin is crisp and golden. Turn flesh-side down and fry for another 2 minutes. Remove from the pan and on to a plate.

Add the onion and ginger to the pan, lower the heat to medium and fry gently for 8-10 minutes until softened and starting to turn golden. Add the turmeric and fry for another 2 minutes, then add the coconut milk and stir to combine. Return the chicken to the pan, skin-side up, and simmer for 25 minutes.

Add the fish sauce and simmer for another 20 minutes.

Halve any thicker stems of broccoli lengthways, then cut into 4cm pieces. Nestle them in the sauce and simmer for a final 3-4 minutes until the broccoli is just tender.

Taste the sauce and add a splash more fish sauce (or even a squeeze of lime juice or a pinch of sugar) to taste, then leave to stand off the heat for a couple of minutes. Scatter with the sliced chilli and serve with steamed rice.

Take your time to brown the chicken skin – you want it crisp and evenly golden. You may need to adjust the heat and move the thighs around to get it right.

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TRAY-BAKED CHICKEN WITH SQUASH, OLIVES AND FETA It’s quite amazing how a single roasting tin can pack in a mountain of Mediterranean flavour. You can substitute the squash with wedges of sweet potato if liked. SERVES 4 PREPARE 20 MINUTES COOK 1 HOUR

4 chicken legs

3 garlic cloves, crushed 3 fresh oregano sprigs 2 tbsp red wine vinegar 3 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp runny honey 1 small-medium squash (such as butternut, acorn or onion squash), peeled and cut into chunks 100ml dry white wine 20 kalamata olives, pitted handful fresh mint leaves, shredded

60g feta, crumbled

Start by marinating the chicken thighs. Slash each chicken leg three times through the skin and flesh to the bone. Place them in a large bowl or resealable food bag with the garlic, oregano, vinegar, oil and honey. Season with salt and toss everything together. Set aside for at least 15 minutes or up to 12 hours.

Preheat the oven to 200C/ 180C fan/gas 6. Arrange the chicken and squash in a large roasting tin and pour over the marinade. Grind over some black pepper and roast for 25 minutes.

Take the roasting tin out of the oven and baste the chicken and squash in the cooking juices. Pour the wine into the base of the tin, scatter over the olives then return to the oven for another 25 minutes.

Lift the chicken legs out of the tin and put on a plate to rest for 10 minutes, covering loosely with foil. Put the roasting tin back in the oven for 10 minutes to allow the squash to caramelise a little more and the cooking juices to reduce and intensify in flavour. Serve scattered with the mint and feta.

For a more substantial meal, serve this with couscous. Place 300g couscous in a large mixing bowl and cover with 400ml just-boiled chicken stock or water. Cover and leave to soak for 10 minutes, before fluffing with a fork.

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