Poached chicken with spring vegetables

Serves: 6

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Total Time: 120

Prep Time: 30

Cook Time: 90

• 1  free-range chicken (about 1.5kg)
• 2  free-range leg-and-thigh joints (optional)
• 2-3 carrots, scraped and chunked
• 3-4 celery sticks, rinsed and chopped
• 1  onion stuck with 2 cloves
• ½ lemon, roughly chopped
• a bunch of herbs (bay leaf, parsley,marjoram, thyme)
• salt and peppercorns
• To finish
• (choose 3 vegetables, including potatoes)
• 1 small new potatoes, courgettes, small carrots, baby turnips, French beans
• To serve
• 1 tablespoon(s) capers, drained
• 2 tablespoon(s) diced spring onion
• 2 tablespoon(s) finely chopped parsley
• 2 tablespoon(s) olive oil
• 1 tablespoon(s) lemon juice

Method

1. Wipe the bird inside and out. Place it (with the extra joints, if using) in a generous pot and pack the sides with the carrots, celery, onion, lemon, herbs, peppercorns and a little salt. Add enough water to submerge everything completely. Bring all to the boil, cover and turn down to simmer. Leave to cook gently for 1-1½ hours, without allowing any large bubbles to break the surface, until the bird is perfectly tender.
2. Remove the chicken from the broth, carve off the breast fillets and a few slices of the dark meat (save the rest for tomorrow), and reserve.
3. Transfer a couple of ladlefuls of the broth to a smaller pan, reheat, add the potatoes (chunked if large), cover and cook till almost tender - 12-15 minutes. Place the remaining vegetables on top - you may need to add a little boiling water - and continue to cook for another 3-4 minutes until the potatoes are perfectly soft. Serve everything heaped on a large dish and hand round a jug of the cooking broth separately.
4. Accompany the poached chicken with a little sauce of capers, spring onion and parsley dressed with olive oil and lemon juice, with a handful of soft spring leaves to mop up the juices.

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