CHICKEN DELIGHTS

THE HUMBLE CHOOK IS ELEVATED TO NEW HEIGHTS WITH THESE OFFERINGS

Mouthwatering new recipes for the humble chook

Hayden’s roast chicken SERVES 2

I get so much inspiration from eating out at restaurants and cafés, and I’m not shy to ask a chef for a recipe if I think it would suit these pages. On a recent trip to Melbourne, I was lucky enough to eat at Etta, a fabulous restaurant owned by a Kiwi couple. I’ve long been a fan of the owner-chef Hayden McMillan’s food, who served up the best roast chicken I had ever eaten. When I asked him how he’d cooked it, “brined, sous-vide, then roasted” was his reply. But he added that a similar effect – succulent and juicy, crispy-skinned and delicious – could be achieved in a home kitchen by poaching, then roasting and it really does!

4- 8 chicken wings or nibbles

½ small onion, roughly

chopped

1 small bay leaf

Few sprigs of parsley

1 tsp sea salt, plus a decent

grind of black pepper

Water

8 baby agria potatoes, halved

4 tbsp olive oil 1-2 small lemons, quartered Large pinch of sea salt

6- 8 kale leaves, central stem

removed if using large leaves

1 Place the chicken, onion, herbs and seasoning in saucepan, just covering with cold water. Heat to a very gentle simmer (a tremble) and cook for 7 minutes.

Turn off the heat and sit for

1-2 hours until cooled.

2 Heat oven to 180°C. Toss potatoes in half the oil and spread out in a shallow roasting dish. Roast for 15-20 minutes. 3 Remove the wings from the poaching liquid (cool and freeze to use as a stock), dry the chicken pieces and add to the roasting dish, along with the lemon wedges. Splash with the remaining olive oil and a decent sprinkle of salt. Roast for 25-30 minutes or until golden and crispy, adding the kale for the final 10-15 minutes to cook until crisp.

4 Serve the chicken with the potatoes and kale, doused in juice from the roasted lemons.