Category Archives: carrots

smokey BBQ beef hash

beef, carrots, celery, chicken, food, potatoes

smokey BBQ beef hash | Big Spud

I think I’m due a badge: I’m the last person in the UK to never have eaten at Nando’s. If I walk past a branch around dinner or lunch there’s always a queue around the block. I’m not sure why. It seemed to creep into the public consciousness out of nowhere. I’m sure it’s wonderful, but I’ve just never felt the compulsion to try it.

Therefore I was nonplussed when a bottle of Nando’s Smokey BBQ sauce dropped through my letterbox. But I was intrigued. It was a little tangy, a little sweet, a little spicy… so it ended up in this hash, which owes a small debt to Jools’ Pregnant Pasta.

Smokey BBQ beef hash (serves 2):

2 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced

1 celery stick, chopped

1 rasher bacon, diced

400g beef mince

4 tablespoons Nando’s Smokey BBQ Portuguese Peri-Peri marinade

200ml beef stock

  1. Get a large pan on very hot. Add a splash of oil and add the carrot, celery and bacon.
  2. After a couple of minutes stir-frying the bacon should be starting to colour. Add the mince and a grind of seasoning. Continue to stir-fry for another 8 – 10 minutes.
  3. Add the BBQ sauce and stock. You want it quite soupy for serving with potato. Stir to combine well and check for seasoning. Serve with a jacket potato and creme fraiche.
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simply sausage ragu

carrots, celery, food, red onion, sage, sausages, squash

simply sausage pasta ragu

Here’s a dish perfect for this time of year, but still doesn’t feel like stodge-o-rama thanks to the amount of veg involved. The star ingredient is the sausage, a meaty banger from Simply Sausages. I used their No.1 Recipe Smithfield Original, a relatively unadorned sausage which gives the pork plenty of space for flavour. Mrs. Spud and I thought it was quite simply the best sausage we’ve ever eaten.

The technique is inspired by a similar recipe from Jamie’s 15-Minute Meals. Essentially process a whole bunch of root veg  and fry with bacon and tomatoes as a sauce base! It’s a recipe with lots of room to maneuver, by just swapping the veg in and out you get a different taste each time. And even if you take it easy it should be 20 mins work, tops.

Thanks to Amanda from ZPR for the sausages!

Simply sausage ragu (serves 4):

6 No.1 Recipe Simply Sausages

2 rashers of bacon

2 carrots, trimmed and peeled

1 stick of celery, trimmed

Bunch of sage

1 red onion, peeled

½ butternut squash

250g penne

2 cloves garlic

1 tin of tomatoes

1 Knorr Rich Beef Stock Pot

Good-quality balsamic vinegar

  1. Preheat the grill on medium, get a large pan of salted water on to boil and put a large frying pan over a medium-high heat. Get your food processor ready too.
  2. Pop the sausages under the grill and cook for 10 – 15 minutes, turning regularly.
  3. In the food processor whizz up the bacon and add to the pan. While that fries add the carrots, celery, sage and onion to the food processor, whizz that up and add that to the pan. Finally blitz the squash and add that to the same pan. Add some salt and pepper. Toss the veg regularly.
  4. While that cooks in the pan, add the pasta to the water and cook according to the packet instructions.
  5. Crush the garlic into the veg pan, and after a minute or so more’s cooking, add the tin of tomatoes. Half fill the tin with water and add to the pan along with the stock pot. Stir well. If it’s looking a little dry add some of the pasta cooking water to loosen it.
  6. When the sausages are cooked cut into slices, drain the pasta and toss both through the veg. Check for seasoning and serve, dressing with balsamic vinegar.

chicken katsu curry

breadcrumbs, cardamom, carrots, chicken, cloves, curry, food, peppers, rice

chicken katsu curry wagamama style

Whenever my son is offered a treat out to a restaurant, say for a birthday or good school report, before I’ve even finished the question he replies “Wagamama“. And he always orders the same thing: chicken katsu curry.

I’ve hard arguments with people on Twitter about Wagamama in the past; that it is lowest common denominator stuff, that it’s Westernised muck… they are aiming at global appeal to be sure. I can’t speak to its authenticity but I know I like what their kitchen serves up. My favourite dish by a long shot is yaki soba, and I must’ve had it a hundred times in and out of the restaurant.

But the katsu curry is really good too. Super-crunchy chicken and a spiky curry sauce, with fluffy rice to soak it up. I have got the Wagamama cookbook but this recipe isn’t in there, so here’s my interpretation which I think is pretty damn close.  They have salad alongside theirs, I went with some more Autumnal veg in fitting with October diets. But it’s the curry sauce I’m absolutely overjoyed with, a dead simple and really tasty condiment that goes with so many things.

Chicken katsu curry (serves 4):

4 chicken breasts

100g panko breadcrumbs

2 eggs, beaten

2 tablespoons flour

Mugful basmati rice

1 star anise

4 cloves

3 cardamom pods

2 carrots, peeled and diced

1 red pepper, diced

1 Knorr chicken stock pot

White wine vinegar

1 tablespoon Patak’s curry paste (whichever flavour you like)

400ml coconut milk (I like Maggi’s powder)

  1. You’ll need two frying pans and two saucepans on the go for this one. Sorry about that. You should also put the oven on a low setting, about 100°C and pop a baking tray in there.
  2. Get the large saucepan over a medium heat and add the rice, the star anise, cloves, cardamom and two mugfuls of water. Cover and stir occasionally while you get on with everything else.
  3. In another saucepan, gently fry the carrots for a minute in a little oil. Then barely cover the carrots with water and add half the stock pot. Simmer. After 5 minutes, add the peppers and when all the liquid is reduced add a punch of sugar and a dash of vinegar – check for seasoning.
  4. In a saucepan over a high heat, add the curry paste and cook out for a minute. Then add the coconut milk and the other half of the stock pot. Simmer until thick.
  5. Get a large frying pan, cover the base with oil and set it over a medium heat. Between two pieces of clingfilm bash the chicken breasts with a rolling pin until 1.5cm thick. Dust with seasoned flour, dip in egg then coat in breadcrumbs. Fry the chicken in batches as your pan allows, browning on both sides and transferring to the baking tray while you finish the rest.
  6. When all the chicken is cooked, the rice is fluffy (it will probably need some salt and pepper) and the veg is tender, serve with lashings of the curry sauce.


Gary Fennon
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lemon chicken on crispy noodles

carrots, chicken, lemon, noodles, stock

lemon chicken on crispy noodles

student-survival-guideNot having money sucks. Worse still, not having money and really enjoying food sucks. The time you most notice this is when you’re a student. Most Wanted, the magazine for VoucherCodes.co.uk has asked me to come up with some recipes that are frugal but hopefully don’t feel like it!

The first of these is lemon chicken on crispy noodles. It’s inspired by a Ken Hom recipe that’s a favourite in our house. It’s tasty, messy and great fun to eat. It also scales up really well if you need to feed a few more friends.

The ingredients in this are pretty basic but raised up by making the flavours big and punchy. Shopping around you could save money on the chicken, and can be adjusted to suit any other sturdy vegetables you wanted to add, such as peas or green beans. However don’t cut too many corners with the stock, it forms the base of the flavour and carries the rest of the dish. I like Knorr products so look out for good brands of stock cubes and stock pots: stock is handy in almost all savoury recipes. One thing to watch for in this recipe is it needs two frying pans on the go, so you may need to borrow another! You should be in and out of the kitchen in 15 minutes once you get the hang of this one.

Approximate cost  for main ingredients, excludes storecupboard ingredients (prices from Tesco.com 4th Oct 2012): £1.72

Lemon chicken on crispy noodles (serves 1):

1 packet of instant noodles

1 chicken breast, diced

250ml stock made with ½ stock cube

1 lemon

2 carrots

1 teaspoon cornflour

  1. Get a pan of water on a rapid boil and add the noodles. Cook for 3 – 4 minutes until tender and then tip into a sieve to drain. Rinse with cold water to completely cool them down.
  2. Get two frying pans on over medium-high heat. In one of them you will cook the noodles; this should have a layer of oil to coat the base of the pan. The other just needs a tiny bit into which to cook everything else.
  3. While the pans heat up dice the chicken and prepare the carrot. Peel the carrot, and after you’ve discarded the skin keep peeling until you reach the bitter core, which you can chuck away. Being very careful to avoid spatter add the noodles to their pan and spread out with a wooden spoon so they cover the base. Add the chicken to the other pan and stir fry for a couple of minutes until coloured all over, then add the stock and carrots.
  4. Into the chicken pan grate in the zest of the lemon and the juice of half. Stir well to combine and let it bubble away for a couple of minutes. The noodles should be crisp on one side now so with confidence flip them over. While the other side cooks taste the broth. You may want to add more lemon, or possibly a pinch of sugar or salt to balance everything out. When you’re happy with the flavour add a splash of water to the cornflour in a small dish and mix well, then tip this into the sauce.
  5. When the noodles are done tip them on to kitchen paper to drain, and then into your serving bowl. Tip the chicken and the sauce over the top and start slurping!

cold sesame noodles

carrots, cucumber, food, noodles, onion, peanut butter

cold sesame noodles

In my most recent monthly roundup, looking at my favourite food posts of the last month, I highlighted Helen Graves’s cold sesame noodles as one I definitely wanted to try. It struck me as a perfect lunch, so I made it the night before for the next day’s al desko treat (see, there’s a mouse and keyboard in the picture and everything).

I made a few tweaks based on my store cupboard. I gave the veg a light pickling to provide a tangy edge, as I was fresh out of pickled mango (not an ingredient I am familiar with). I ended up with a salty, sweet, savoury, crunchy yummy pot of noodles. I transport mine in a snazzy Sistema lunchbox where the dressing, noodles and veg can be separated from each other until the perfect moment. Much more interesting than a flabby cheese sandwich.

Cold sesame noodles (serves 2):

½ cucumber

1 large carrot

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

Pinch of sugar

2 roasted onions, roughly chopped

2 dried noodle nests

1 teaspoon ginger

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 large heaped tablespoon peanut butter

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 teaspoon spiced rice vinegar

Pinch of chilli flakes

A shake of sesame seeds

  1. Halve the cucumber lengthways and use a teaspoon to scoop out the seeds. Cut at an angle to get little 1cm-wide bridge shapes. Grate the carrot into the cucumber, splash over the vinegar and add a pinch each of sugar and salt. Toss gently and allow to macerate while you get on with everything else.
  2. Bring a pan of water to the boil and cook the noodles according to the packet instructions. Drain and rinse the noodles thoroughly with cold water.
  3. While the noodles cook, combine the rest of the ingredients in a bowl. Add water if necessary to make a runny dressing. When you’re ready to eat combine the lot and wolf down! (Warning: wear a napkin tucked into your collar).

osso buco

carrots, food, tomato, veal

osso buco

Osso buco… the classic veal dish, and yet I’d never cooked it. I had some gorgeous Dorset rose veal shank from Farmers Choice and I felt this had to be the way to show it off.

I also had a copy of Polpo to hand which had a recipe for osso buco, so the timing seemed perfect. I’ve eaten at Polpetto before and was blown away by the cicheti, a kind of “Italian tapas”. So many lovely little things to try. And the book is a perfect reflection of the dining style; lots of little things to eat, but with large flavour. Most of the recipes are complete simplicity which demands the highest quality ingredients. Lovely. I took the recipe and applied it to my slow cooker so it could bubble away while I was out at work.

And how did this osso buco turn out? The meat was a little disappointing, slightly chewy but the flavour was good. The gravy however was delicious; thickened with bone marrow and rich with tomatoey goodness.

Osso buco (serves 2):

2 pieces of veal shin on the bone

Plain flour

2 carrots, roughly cut

1 celery stick, roughly chopped

1 sprig rosemary, leaves picked

1 sprig thyme, leaves picked

2 garlic cloves

A glass of white wine

1 tin tomatoes

  1. Preheat the slow cooker to high. Get the kettle on to boil. Get a large frying pan very hot and add a little oil. Roll the veal in flour and season well. Fry the veal on all sides and then transfer to the slow cooker.
  2. Add the carrot, celery, herbs to the pan and crush in the garlic. Fry for a minute or two and add the wine. Let that bubble up, then add the tomatoes. Once everything has come to the boil transfer to the slow cooker and top up with boiling water until everything is covered. Turn down to low and cook for 12 hours. Serve with wet polenta.

sunday grill

carrots, chicken, food, potatoes

grilled chicken, roast potatoes, stuffing, carrots and gravy

…Instead of Sunday roast, geddit? Except it wasn’t roasted, and I ate it on a Wednesday. Simple, eh? Let me explain…

George Foreman Grills are making a comeback, it seems. They passed me by the first time around; just wasn’t in the right place at the right time. So when I was invited to test-drive their new monster 4-Portion family grill I was intrigued. I tried out a few things but they were keen for me to try cooking a delicious four person meal.

Whatever my recipe was how could I leave out my thing, roast potatoes? So a version of that was definitely going to feature; from there it was only a short step to deciding I might as well do as much of a Sunday roast as possible on the little dude. I can’t use my beloved Maris Pipers though, their texture will cause them to fall apart on the griddle. So I’m bucking the trend and using new pots here. Technically we end up with something closer to a saute potato but so much healthier.

With the potatoes sorted, it’s on to the meat. Chicken seems like the way to go. But I want to maximise the flavour, I am not actually roasting here so a few leg-ups are needed to make regular grilled foods punch above their weight. My love affair with brining told me to try it here; it provides you with excellent seasoning and gives a much ‘bigger’ flavour. The final touch for the chicken is to rub it with a stock cube to impart even more deep chickeny love.

So there it is – my quick and tasty Sunday Grill. Once your chicken has brined I reckon it will take you 25 minutes to get it on the table, so it’s a great midweek meal. Check back later this week where I’ll be giving away a grill of your very own!

If you want to go shopping for a grill now, here’s a deal for you: run over to George Foreman Grills and they’re currently offering free UK delivery and a 50% off sale. But for an extra 10% off, use the code GFSAVE10 and grab yourself a bargain!

Thanks to Sophie for going to a lot (!) of trouble getting me a grill to test on. For more George Foreman Grill inspiration, check out Helen’s lemony maple chicken thighs, and Katie’s sticky griddled plums!

Sunday grill (serves 4):

4 chicken breasts

Lots of salt

1 bay leaf

1 tablespoon honey

1 chicken stock cube

500g new potatoes, halved

750g carrots, peeled and chopped

1 shallot, peeled

50g cooked chestnuts

4 pork sausages, skinned

1 rasher bacon

3 sage leaves

25g breadcrumbs

Gravy, to serve

  1. Put your chicken breasts in a bowl and put it on top of some scales. Cover the chicken generously and note how heavy the water is. Work out 5% of the weight of the water, and add that amount of salt to the bowl. Ad the bay leaf and honey, cover and leave refrigerated for at least an hour, but no more than 6 hours.
  2. When you’re ready to cook, drain the chicken, give it a brief rinse in cold water and pat dry with kitchen roll.
  3. Pre-heat your George Foreman grill to it’s highest setting on both grill and griddle. Get a large pan of water on to boil. Crumble half the stock cube into the water. When it’s ready pop the potatoes in and boil for approximately 8 minutes or until tender enough that a knife can pass into it. Drain and allow to steam-dry for a couple of minutes. As they cool add a teaspoon of oil and toss thoroughly.
  4. In a food processor, whizz up the shallot, then add the chestnuts, sausagemeat, bacon, sage and breadcrumbs. Season well with salt and pepper and pulse several times until the whole mixture pulls together. Scoop out the mix and form into 4 balls, then flatten.
  5. On the griddle section, add the potatoes cut-side down. This will cook for about 1o – 12 minutes, until the are beautifully golden brown. You should also just about have room for the stuffing patties. After about 6 minutes the stuffing should be flipped over and cooked on the other side.
  6. Meanwhile, fill the saucepan that held the potatoes with boiling water again and get the carrots on to cook until tender to your liking.
  7. After the potatoes have been on for about 4 minutes, rub the remaining stock cube half all over the chicken and add the chicken breasts to the grill. Cook for 7 – 10 minutes until cooked through. They will take longer to colour because of the brining, but they will cook inside in the same time. Serve everything up and pour over your favourite gravy.

roast turkey with all the trimmings

brussels sprouts, carrots, food, gravy, parsnips, potatoes, turkey, ,

roast turkeySometimes, blog posts I write are to spread the news of some great recipe I found. Other times it’s about crazy experiments. But the aim has always been to be a log of what I cooked, and that’s what this Christmas Day feast is about: to remind myself what worked and what to fix for next time.

Perhaps surprisingly I’d never cooked a whole turkey before: on previous years when hosting someone else provided the turkey on another occasion I went for chicken. So on your maiden voyage into turkey cooking, what technique do you follow to ensure no-one is disappointed (least of all me!) ?

turkey in the brineI was initially tempted by Matthew Fort’s method for slow-roasting the bird, especially given my previous success with long roasting times. But I just couldn’t take the risk and instead went for the technique of that doyenne of domesticity, Nigella. I grabbed a copy of Nigella Christmas from the library and swotted up. She favours a brining followed by a hot, quick roasting. I’m a big fan of brining poultry and with trusty meat thermometer in hand I had to follow this one. And I’m so glad I did. It was no bother to prepare as it is done a couple of days beforehand, and by using a foil roasting tray I could chuck it on the recycling pile and not have to scrub the pan after cooking. I had a 5.5kg bird and anticipated a cooking time of 2½ hrs and bang on then it was done. In fact I probably could have removed it 15 minutes earlier as the very outer skin was a little tough and the internal temperature was in the mid 80s, well within the safe range. That aside the flavour was lovely and texture great, so I was very pleased with bowing down to Queen Nigella’s recipe.

So that was the main event. The roast potatoes, well you might recognise that recipe. Sprouts were also cooked to a previous tradition in my house, while carrots were simply steamed – there’s more than enough flavours going on to bother with tweaking these too much. There were also maple-roast parsnips, Jamie Oliver’s “get-ahead” gravy which I’ve made before and is absolutely terrific (a friend of mine commented that it “tastes of everything you put into it”), and on this occasion raised its game with turkey roasting juices and a quick turkey stock.

Other people may raise an eyebrow at packet stuffing, but I grew up on the stuff and a roast poultry dinner just isn’t the same without it. Yes, I know it is little more than a packet of dust mixed with water making it no more sophisticated than a Pot Noodle but I love it.

I can’t remember ever having bread sauce before but read this recipe on Recipe Rifle which, reading between the lines must be a Josceline Dimbleby recipe and therefore failsafe. However after hours of cooking it was watery. The flavour was gorgeous but unfortunately just too wet. I suspect I used rubbish bread which wasn’t in the mood to absorb liquid but I would definitely like to try it again.

Bread sauce apart, all in all a success. Very pleased with the results. Merry Christmas!

(I’ve presented it below as an itinerary as a reminder where I saved time for next year. I aimed for a 2.30pm dinner)

Roast turkey with all my trimmings  (serves 7 with leftovers):

For the gravy:

6 chicken pieces (wings, thighs etc)

3 onions, quartered

3 celery sticks, chopped

3 carrots, chopped

2 sprigs rosemary

2 tablespoons flour

1 pint boiling water

Turkey giblets

For the turkey & brine:

5.5kg turkey

10 pints water

125 grams table salt

3 tablespoons black peppercorns

1 cinnamon stick

4 cloves

2 tablespoons juniper berries

4 star anise

2 tablespoons mustard seeds

200g caster sugar

2 onions, quartered

1 piece ginger

4 tablespoons maple syrup

4 tablespoons clear honey

1 orange, quartered

For the bread sauce:

1 large onion, very finely diced

150g wholemeal bread, crusts on

6 cloves

4 cardamom pods

½ a nutmeg

75g butter

900ml milk

300ml double cream

For the yorkshire puddings:

4 eggs

4 heaped tablespoons flour

Milk

Vegetable oil

For the potatoes:

1kg potatoes

200ml goose fat

3 cloves garlic

Peel of 1 orange

1 sprig of rosemary

For the maple parsnips:

6 parsnips, peeled and quartered

2 tablespoons maple syrup

Red wine vinegar

For the brussels sprouts:

500g brussels sprouts

2 rashers bacon, diced

1 vac-pack of chestnuts

Etc:

6 carrots, peeled and sliced

1 packet stuffing

Sausages wrapped in bacon

    • 3 days before: GRAVY – Preheat the oven to 180°C. Chuck the veg and herbs in a roasting dish and top with the chicken pieces. Roast for about an hour then transfer to a hob. Shake over the flour and stir all around until a thick paste forms, then pour over the water. Allow to bubble away for about 45 minutes and then sieve the solids off. The gravy can be frozen until needed.
    • 2 days before: TURKEY – chuck the turkey with all the brine ingredients in a large lidded container and top with water until the bird is covered. Leave in a cold place (I kept mine in the garage).
    • 1 day before: BREAD SAUCE – Preheat the oven to 130°C. Combine all the ingredients in a baking dish, cover with foil and bake for 2 hours. Refrigerate until needed.
    • 1 day before: YORKSHIRE PUDDINGS – Whisk the eggs and flour together with a pinch each of salt and pepper in a measuring jug and add enough milk to make a thin custardy-textured batter. Cover and refrigerate until needed.
    • 1 day before: ROAST POTATOES – peel the potatoes but keep the peelings. I boil the peelings with the potatoes to impart super-earthy flavour, by putting them inside my cheapest (clean) dishcloth tied at the top. Cut the potatoes into golf ball-size chunks. Get a pan of water on to a rolling boil with a hefty hand of salt and boil the potatoes + skins for about 15 mins, or until they are super-tender. Drain and return to the hot pan (off the heat) to steam dry. When cool cover with clingfilm and refrigerate until needed.
    • 9am that day: TURKEY – remove the turkey from the brine, drain and pat with kitchen paper. Leave on a rack over the sink to continually drip-dry and come up to room temperature.
    • 9.30am: GRAVY – put the giblets, neck, any turkey trimmings you have into a pan with a quartered onion and barely cover with water. Leave on a low simmer for a couple of hours.
    • 10am: CARROTS & SPROUTS – put the carrots into a steamer, with the sprouts on the top tier. Halve the sprouts if they are on the large side. You are bonkers if you put crosses into the bases.
    • 10.30am: PARSNIPS – toss the parsnips in a little oil along with the maple syrup, plus a dash of red wine vinegar. Pop them in a roasting dish until needed. Preheat the oven to 200°C.
    • 11am: TURKEY – stick it in the oven. I recommend a disposable roasting dish to avoid dishwash insanity.
    • 1.15pm – 1.30pm: TURKEY – you should be checking this to see whether the bird is done around this time. When ready bring it out and cover with foil and a tea towel. When it comes out, stick the goose fat in a large roasting dish and put in the oven for a couple of minute to get sizzly hot.
    • 1.40pm: POTATOES – put the potatoes into the hot fat.
    • 1.45pm: STUFFING – mix the stuffing mix with boiling water and leave to sit. Put the parsnips in.
    • 2.00pm: LOTS – dot the stuffing with butter and put in the oven. Cover the bases of a yorkie tin with a layer of oil and get in the oven to heat up. Get the gravy and bread sauce into saucepans warming up. Tip the turkey stock into the gravy too. Depending on how salty they are, you might want to add some of the juices from the turkey roasting tray. Bung the sausages in bacon into the oven too. Give the potatoes a quick toss and add the garlic, orange and rosemary.
    • 2.05pm: YORKSHIRES – carefully pour the batter into the sizzling yorkie tin.
    • 2.10pm: VEG – Pop the steamer on for 20 mins.
    • 2.20pm: SPROUTS – get a frying pan over a medium heat and fry off the bacon. When coloured tip in the sprouts and chestnuts, seasoning liberally. After 5 mins take off the heat and add a drizzle of maple syrup.
    • 2.25pm: TURKEY – carve (or better still, get someone else to do it).
    • 2.30pm: Serve and eat!

empire chicken with indian gravy and bombay roasties

carrots, chicken, cinnamon, cloves, coriander, cucumber, cumin, curry, food, garlic, ginger, lemon, nigella seeds, potatoes, red onion

empire chicken with indian roasties

What a triumph this is. Just when I was feeling a bit indifferent to Jamie Oliver’s Great Britain along comes this absolute belter. Jamie introduces this by saying most people when asked about their favourite foods will mention roast chicken and curries, and this utterly unites the heart of both of these.

With blackened, tangy skin the chicken comes out juicy and tickling on the tongue, although be warned it will make a mess of your oven as it sits on the rack.

Being the kind of blog this is though, I have to talk about the roast potatoes. They are a triumph. I used to get “spicy spuds” from a dubious takeaway near me and these are very, very close to those – crispy, spicy and fluffy.

I’ve made a few changes to the spices in the potatoes based on what I had, and used floury over new pots to get them really crispy. I’ve served mine with a refreshing salad.

I cannot recommend this recipe enough.

Jamie’s original recipe is here.

Empire chicken, Bombay roasties, Indian gravy and refreshing salad (serves 4):

For the chicken and marinade

1.4kg free-range chicken

1 heaped tablespoon each finely grated garlic, fresh ginger and fresh red chilli

1 heaped tablespoon tomato purée

1 heaped teaspoon each of ground coriander, turmeric, garam masala and ground cumin

2 heaped teaspoons natural yoghurt

2 level teaspoons sea salt

For the gravy

1 stick of cinnamon

2 small red onions, peeled

10 cloves

3 tablespoons each of white wine vinegar and Worcestershire sauce

3 level tablespoons plain flour

500ml chicken stock

For the Bombay-style potatoes

800g new potatoes

sea salt and ground pepper

1 lemon

2 or 3 tablespoons olive oil

a knob of butter

1 heaped teaspoon each of nigella seeds, ground coriander, garam masala, fenugreek and turmeric

1 bulb of garlic

Pinch of chilli flakes

For the salad

½ a cucumber, peeled

3 carrots, peeled

1 red onion, peeled

½ lemon

    1. Slash the chicken’s legs a few times right down to the bone. Mix all the marinade ingredients together and smear all over the chicken. Leave to marinate overnight.
    2. Preheat the oven to 200°C and organize your shelves so the roasting tray can sit right at the bottom, the chicken can sit directly above it, right on the bars of the shelf, and the potatoes can go at the top.
    3. Cut the potatoes into golf-ball size pieces then parboil them in a large pan of salted boiling water with a whole lemon for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are cooked through. Drain the potatoes then let them steam dry. Stab the lemon a few times with a sharp knife and put it right into the chicken’s cavity.
    4. Roughly chop the onions and add to a roasting tray along with the cinnamon stick, cloves, vinegar and Worcestershire sauce, then whisk in the flour. Pour in the stock or water, then place this right at the bottom of the oven. Place the chicken straight on to the bars of the middle shelf, above the roasting tray. Cook for 1 hour 20 minutes.
    5. Put a roasting tray in the oven for five minutes to get hot. Add the olive oil, butter, the spices, halve a bulb of garlic and add it straight to the pan. Add your drained potatoes to the tray, mix everything together, then season well. After the chicken has been in for 40 minutes, put the potatoes in.
    6. Once the chicken is cooked, move it to a board to rest. Pass the gravy through a coarse sieve into a pan, whisking any sticky goodness from the pan as you go. Bring to the boil and either cook and thicken or thin down with water to your preference (I had to add some boiling water to deglaze the surface and make a sauce out of it.
    7. For the salad, use a vegetable peeler to make thin strips of the carrot and cucumber. Then finely slice the onion and add this to it. Add a pinch each of salt and sugar, then squeeze over the lemon and toss to combine. Leave for 15 minutes while everything else finishes off.
    8. Get your potatoes out of the oven and put them into a serving bowl, then serve the chicken on a board next to the sizzling roasties and hot gravy.