From the magazine...
We have kept chickens for four years, albeit only a small flock in a run in our garden, and I was fearful that they had passed laying age and would no longer deliver the eggs we have come to take for granted.
As the one to benefit from the joys of the yellowest yolks and freshest eggs for eating and baking, I have proudly presented the loveliest, primrose-coloured sponges to friends, family and visitors to The Kitchen School knowing that the baking girls (our hens) should take more credit than me for their lightness and perfection! Egg alchemy is something I often ponder. Who made the first meringue and how did it happen? Indeed, how can something so simple, such a pure, yet everyday ingredient, achieve so much, behave so differently and become so many incredible things?
In spring, the fresh herbs in our kitchen garden are suddenly bursting back into life after few signs of growth in their woody, winter state. They bring flavour and the taste of sunnier days to the simplest of dishes. Handfuls of herbs, stuffed under the skin of a simple roast chicken, finely chopped into delicious homemade pesto and dolloped into one pot stews. Delicious!
Five fantastic ways to cook with chicken
1. Miranda’s one-pan chicken
Since I was weaning my first baby, now unbelievably almost 14 years ago, this has been one of my favourite things to make. A quick and easy meal that made lots of baby food and some delicious meals for us, too. Nurturing, multi-purpose and leaving only one pan to wash up – it was always going to be a winner! Most weeks, I still continue this habit, buying a whole chicken, boiling it in a pan with lots of seasonal vegetables. Long past the years of blending, pureeing and freezing, I still do this and it now makes a perfect lunch or simple supper. Left chunky, it makes a delicious casserole or, bones removed and blended, and with some good seasoning, it’s easily transformed into a nourishing soup.
2. There’s nothing like a good stock
My big brother lives high on the moors above Sheffield, a trek from Sussex, making Sunday lunches together far rarer than we would like them to be. But we are always united in food, trying to grow our own produce - he more successfully than I in his substantial walled vegetable garden. Both of us always have chicken bones bubbling away in the pot to make stock for the week ahead. If I remember during the week, I keep the tops and tails and chopped off bits of unused veg in the fridge and add these to softened onion, covering the carcass with water and adding a big bunch of herbs from the kitchen garden. This simmers gently before waiting in the fridge to later transform rice into risotto, vegetables into soup and noodles into steaming broth.
3. Five-minute chicken, pea and spinach omelette
This is one of my standby lunches when I’m working from home and need a little comfort food. Put a handful of peas (frozen will be fine) into a frying pan with a little butter, cook a little, then add the chicken to warm through. Add a handful of spinach and let it wilt. Beat the eggs in a mug with a fork, add the grated cheese and pour over the chicken, peas and spinach and cook. Sprinkle with fresh, chopped mint and eat immediately.
4. Eating out at home
Roast pieces of chicken or a small whole bird in a metal tin. For the last 15 minutes of cooking, pour over teriyaki or hoi sin sauce and add a generous amount of broccoli. Shred raw spinach and spring cabbage, grate carrots and chop mange tout, spring onions or chicory into a serving bowl. Shred the warm chicken and pile on top of the raw veg, spoon the sauce (the juices and teriyaki will have combined) over the top. Sprinkle with a few chopped cashew nuts. A super cheap, seasonal, healthy and simple alternative to a trip to the local restaurant or takeaway.
5. Stove top Spanish stew
Fry shallots in a little oil until soft, add thin slices of chopped chorizo and fry until starting to crisp. Add a few handfuls of leftover roast chicken, a handful of cherry tomatoes, some paprika and leftover roast potatoes (if using raw potatoes, thinly slice and cook with the shallots). Spoon in a little chicken stock and a tablespoon of tomato puree. Simmer gently for about 20 minutes, stirring regularly and adding a little more stock or water if it needs it.
Miranda Gore Browne is a food writer, home-baking expert, director of The Kitchen School and passionate foodie. She was also a finalist on the first series of the Great British Bake Off. She lives with her husband and three children, their dog and five chickens in the pretty South Downs National Park. Follow Miranda on Twitter @MirandaBakes, on Instagram and Facebook as Miranda Gore Browne.
