The kitchen windows are steamed up. A chicken poaches on the hob in my deepest cast-iron pot, with an onion, a couple of carrots, a little bunch of thyme leaves and bay. There are black peppercorns, too, but no salt yet. I add salt flakes later, when the aromatics have done their work and I know where I am. Sometimes I include small whole carrots, halved and peeled shallots, and parsnips to serve with the chicken.
A poached chicken lacks the amber skin, toasty, chewy wing tips and sticky goo that accumulates under the roasting carcass. What it carries in its favour is the juiciest flesh, meltingly tender meat and a timeless character. It is a dish of calm. However the best bit is not the meat itself, but the broth it leaves behind: the aromatic, golden liquor to ladle over your chicken, to give body to a risotto that no vegetable stock can ever come near. It’s a broth to warm us when we come in soaking wet from a winter walk; a broth with which to poach chunks of celery and leeks, or add chicken and pearl barley to make a soup that will set the world to rights.
All week I have feasted on the fat free-range bird I poached last weekend. The meat was served hot at first, with a cream of mint and tarragon; then cold with a snappy little pickle of shredded carrots and beetroot. I also deep-fried a bag of poached chicken wings that crisped up temptingly and served them, battered and juicy fleshed, with a mouth-stinging dipping sauce.
Poached chicken with herb crème fraîche
Browning the chicken wings before adding them to the poaching chicken gives the broth depth and sweetness.
Serves 4
olive oil 3 tbsp
chicken wings 350g
onions 3
banana shallots 4
chicken 1.8kg, a whole one
water 3 litres
thyme 6-8 small sprigs
black peppercorns 10
carrots 200g, small ones
mint 10g
tarragon 10g
crème fraîche 200g
Warm the oil in a large casserole then add the chicken wings and brown them over a moderate heat until brown all over. Remove them and set aside.
Peel the onions, roughly chop them then add to the pan. Peel and halve the shallots lengthways. Add them to the pan with the onions, letting them cook over a moderate heat till pale gold. Pour away any excess oil then place the chicken in the pan, tuck the browned wings around the bird, then pour in the water.
Add the thyme sprigs and peppercorns to the pan then bring the water to the boil. Lower the heat, skim off any froth that floats to the surface then leave at a low simmer for a good hour and 20 minutes.
Scrub the carrots, leaving them whole if they are very small. Slip them into the pot once the chicken has been cooking for an hour.
Make the herb crème fraîche. Remove the mint leaves from their stalks, chop finely and put in a small mixing bowl. Pull the tarragon leaves from the stalks, finely chop then mix them with the mint. Stir the crème fraîche into the mint and tarragon with a tiny pinch of salt and set aside.
Turn off the heat and leave the chicken be for 15 minutes, then carve into leg and breast portions. Divide between four deep plates. Lift out the shallot halves and the carrots and place them in the dishes.
Check the seasoning of the broth, then ladle into the bowls. Place the herbed crème fraîche on the table for everyone to help themselves.
Fried chicken wings, chilli dip
Crisp, juicy chicken. Hot, sweet, sour dip.
bay leaves 3
black peppercorns 8
chicken wings 400g
For the batter:
plain flour 80g
cornflour 20g
ice-cold water 175ml
egg white of 1
For the dipping sauce:
sugar 2 tbsp
bird’s eye chillies 2
lime juice 4 tbsp
fish sauce 3-4 tbsp
Half-fill a large pan with water and put it on to boil. Add the bay leaves, peppercorns then the chicken wings. Lower the heat to a simmer and cook for 15-20 minutes, then turn off the heat and leave for 30 minutes.
Remove the chicken wings with a draining spoon and lay them on a plate or baking sheet lined with kitchen roll. Dry the chicken on both sides then leave for a couple of hours to dry thoroughly.
Make the batter: put the flour and cornflour in a bowl. Beat in the water but don’t worry too much about getting a smooth batter. Set aside for an hour to rest.
Make the dip: put the sugar into a small saucepan, add 10 tbsp water and bring to the boil. Cook at a fierce boil for a couple of minutes until it has darkened (I stop just short of caramel) then remove from the heat and allow to cool a little. Chop the chillies finely and stir in, together with the chilli seeds. Stir in the lime juice and as much fish sauce as you like. Taste and tweak to your liking: you are after a balance of hot, sour and sweet.
Get a deep pan of oil hot for deep-frying. Beat the egg white until it is almost stiff then fold into the batter. Drop the chicken wings into the batter, then lift them out one at a time and lower carefully into the hot oil.
Leave the wings until the batter is lightly crisp. Remove from the oil, drain briefly on kitchen paper then serve with the dip.
Email Nigel at nigel.slater@observer.co.uk or follow him on Twitter @NigelSlater