Recipes: Feast for all

Published on Tuesday 7 April 2009 14:50

TOMORROW IS EASTER DAY – FOR CHRISTIANS, THE MOST HOPE-FILLED of the year. The traditional image is one of sunshine, daffodils, lambs, chickens and eggs – and chocolate, of course. Given the space, I am limited to just one subject, and so I'm going to concentrate on chicken ideas for a celebratory lunch.

Chicken is easy to cook, and I cannot think of anyone among my meat-eating family and friends who does not love it. It is the perfect choice, therefore, for households of varying ages. A straight-forward roast chicken is the most appealing to the very young. Served with bread sauce and chipolatas, this is a guaranteed hit for all ages. But here are three recipes which include a wide range of differing flavours and vegetables and spices.

LEMON AND GARLIC ROAST CHICKEN WITH SAFFRON AND LEMON SAUCE

The sauce to go with the roast chicken can be made in advance and reheated, which saves the last-minute making of gravy. The lemon and garlic butter can be smeared over the chicken if you don't have the time – or inclination – to push it between the skin and breast meat. Any leftovers are almost as delicious eaten up cold with salad and baked potatoes the next day.

SERVES 6

2 chickens, each weighing about 31/2 lb/1.4kg

6oz/170g butter, softened

finely grated rind of 2 lemons (wash the lemons very well under running hot water, and dry them, before grating)

1 level teaspoon salt

about 20 grinds of black pepper

1 fat clove of garlic, skinned and very finely diced

1 rounded tablespoon finely chopped parsley

For the sauce:

2oz/55g butter

1 onion, skinned and finely and neatly diced

1/2 pint/285ml chicken stock

2 generous pinches of saffron strands – try not to use powdered saffron, which doesn't have the same flavour

grated rind and juice of 1 lemon (again, wash the lemon, to remove the preservative)

1/2 pint/285ml double cream

1/2 teaspoon salt

about 15 grinds of black pepper

If your roasting tin isn't non-stick, line it with a sheet of baking parchment – this makes washing-up so much easier after cooking. Put the chickens in the roasting tin.

In a bowl, beat the softened butter with the grated lemon rind, salt and pepper, diced garlic and chopped parsley. Divide the amount in half. With your fingers, ease up the skin from the breast of each chicken and gently push the butter under it, working it with your fingers both under the skin and from the surface of the skin – you can get the butter right back. Try to make it as even as possible and smear some over the legs.

Roast in a moderate oven, 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4, for 1 hour 10-15 minutes, or until when you stick a knife between the thigh and body of the bird the juices run clear and not at all pink-tinged. Leave the birds to rest for ten minutes loosely covered with foil (to keep in the heat) before carving.

Make the sauce by melting the butter in a saucepan and frying the finely diced onion until it is completely soft and transparent – about 5 minutes. Add the chicken stock and saffron and simmer till the liquid has reduced by more than half. Add the lemon rind and juice and simmer for a further couple of minutes. Add the double cream – it must be double, to avoid curdling and so that it thickens on simmering (no reduced fat cream will thicken). Season with salt and pepper and simmer until the sauce is the thickness of thick cream. Either spoon over each serving of carved roast chicken or serve separately and let your guests help themselves.

CHICKEN BRAISED WITH RED PEPPERS AND SHALLOTS

SERVES 6

4 tablespoons olive oil

6 red peppers, each halved, seeds scooped away and the halves sliced into thick strips

9 large banana shallots, each skinned and halved lengthways

1 level teaspoon salt

about 20 grinds of black pepper

2 chickens, each weighing about 31/2 lb/1.4kg

1 pint/570ml chicken stock

2oz/55g soft butter

2 level teaspoons flour

1-2 fat cloves of garlic, skinned and diced

In a large roasting tin (preferably non-stick) or a large casserole sufficient in size to take both chickens, heat the olive oil and fry the sliced peppers, shallots and garlic over a moderately high heat for several minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper. When the shallots are looking transparent, put the chickens, breast down, among the peppers and shallots. Pour in the stock, cover the casserole with its lid or, if you are cooking in a roasting tin, cover the whole thing with foil, tucking it tightly under the rim of the tin.

Roast in a moderate oven, 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4, for 11/2 hours. Cool the chickens just enough so you can strip off the meat without burning your fingers. Throw away the skin, but keep the bones for making stock. Stir the chicken meat back among the peppers and shallots, which will have collapsed and wilted during the cooking time. Reheat, stirring the butter and flour mixture into the juices in the tin or casserole, until the liquid is simmering gently – the butter and flour mixture will slightly thicken the juices and give a good gloss to the resulting sauce.

STIR-FRIED CHICKEN WITH LIME, GINGER, SPRING ONIONS AND SUGARSNAP PEAS

This is one of those quickly cooked dishes where the preparation can be done in advance and, given a really sharp knife, takes just a few minutes.

SERVES 6

4 tablespoons olive oil

8 chicken breasts, each sliced into fine strips no thicker than your little finger (throw away any skin)

2in/5cm root ginger, skin pared off and the ginger diced finely

1-2 fat cloves of garlic, skinned and diced finely

24 (approx) spring onions, either end of each trimmed off, and the spring onions sliced into 4-5 pieces

1lb/450g sugarsnap peas, each sliced diagonally quite finely into no fewer than 5 strips

finely grated rind of 2 limes (both well washed and dried before grating)

1 teaspoon salt

about 20 grinds of black pepper

about 1/4 teaspoon grated, dried chilli (optional)

Heat the olive oil in a wide saut pan over a high heat and stir-fry the chicken strips until they are completely opaque and, when you cut a strip in half, it is cooked through. Scoop the cooked chicken into a warm bowl.

Stir-fry the diced ginger and garlic, the sliced spring onions and the sliced sugarsnap peas for about 5 minutes. Replace the chicken and stir in well at the same time as the grated lime rinds, the salt, pepper and, if you are including it, the chilli.

I like to serve this with boiled basmati rice stirred with a tablespoon of olive oil and a tablespoon of finely chopped parsley, both of which help to give the cooked rice a much more appealing appearance.

For good results, always buy the best-quality chicken you can find, preferably from your local butcher.