A roast hen is a joyous sight, plump and golden, the star of Sunday lunch, then – the subsequent day – one thing to plunder for sandwiches and soup. However a lot of the hen we eat arrives within the kitchen not as a complete, superb chicken, plucked and tied and prepared for the oven, however within the type of wings or thighs, breasts or drumsticks. Neat little packages for weekday dinners.
Wings – low-cost and too typically forgotten – roast sweetly sufficient with nothing greater than lemon, inexperienced oil and black pepper. (I despair of supermarkets and butchers who take away the guidelines of their hen wings. The bit that crisps and caramelises so delectably within the roasting tin.) I typically go away them within the oven until they’re so crisp they virtually shatter between the enamel, tiny strips of translucent nut-brown pores and skin – savoury butterscotch to eat with salt, lemon and a bathtub of hummus.
Thighs from plump, free-range birds want little or no work from the prepare dinner to be good. They are often roasted with soy sauce, ginger and honey, or simmered with leeks and thyme for soup, although I’ll typically roast a dish of them with butter and lemon to maintain within the fridge for snacking on. (Plenty of salt, a dollop of mayonnaise and I’m completely happy.) I purchase minced hen, too, for making into herb-freckled desserts with lemon and garlic and tarragon and stuffing between slices of sentimental, evenly toasted bread.
Hen burgers with basil and lemon mayonnaise
I take advantage of a smooth, brioche-like milk bread for these hen sandwiches, however a smooth, floury roll, break up and toasted, can be good too. The basil mayonnaise may very well be modified to incorporate tarragon for those who desire, however the seasoning of lemon juice and black pepper stays important. A fast reminder that hen needs to be used the day it’s minced.
Makes 6 sandwiches
minced hen breast meat 500g
tarragon leaves 1 heaped tbsp
garlic 2 cloves
dried breadcrumbs 6 heaped tbsp
lemon 1
groundnut oil for frying
For the mayonnaise
basil leaves 30g
ready-made mayonnaise 12 tbsp
pickled cabbage 12 tbsp
pickled gherkins 3
smooth brioche-style milk bread 12 slices
Put the minced hen breast meat in a medium-size mixing bowl. Roughly chop the tarragon leaves and add them to the mince. Finely crush the garlic to a paste, then add to the hen with the breadcrumbs, the juice of half of the lemon and a beneficiant crumbling of salt. Reserve the opposite lemon half for the dressing.
Combine all the things collectively – best completed along with your palms – then form into six burgers and place on a tray within the fridge for an excellent hour.
Make the herb mayonnaise: finely shred the basil leaves and stir them into the mayonnaise with a squeeze of lemon and a little bit black pepper. Drain the pickled cabbage, thinly slice the gherkins.
Toast the bread evenly on each side and unfold one aspect with the basil mayonnaise. Place a few of the pickles – crimson cabbage and gherkins – on six of the slices.
Warmth a shallow movie of oil in a large, shallow pan that doesn’t stick. Fry the burgers for a few minutes all sides till golden. Cowl with a lid and proceed cooking for 3 or 4 minutes until cooked proper via.
Place a burger on every of the six slices of bread then sandwich along with the remaining slices.
Hen soup with leeks and orzo
Thick, silky soup, with smooth leeks and orzo, substantial sufficient to eat as a essential dish. Recipes like this get me via the primary chilly days of spring. The consistency is poised between soup and stew (watch the liquid ranges because the soup simmers, topping it up if wants be). I prefer to maintain the items of hen thick and roughly torn, they’re extra pleasing to eat than hen that has been chopped into cubes.
Serves 4
olive or vegetable oil 3 tbsp
hen thighs 6 giant
leeks 400g
hen or vegetable inventory 1 litre
lemon ½
black peppercorns 8
orzo 100g
inexperienced olives 12
peas 150g, shelled or frozen weight
parsley a small handful, chopped
Heat the olive or vegetable oil in a deep, huge pan, add the hen items, pores and skin aspect down and evenly seasoned, then prepare dinner for about 10-Quarter-hour over a reasonable warmth till the pores and skin is a wealthy, deep gold. Flip them and color the underside equally, then take away from the pan and put aside.
Trim the leeks, discarding the roots and the very darkish suggestions of the leaves. Slice into rounds, about as thick as a pencil, wash them totally in chilly working water, eradicating each grain of grit trapped between their layers.
Shake the leeks dry, then add them to the pan through which you cooked the hen – there ought to nonetheless be loads of juices through which to take action – letting them prepare dinner over a reasonable warmth for about Quarter-hour. Cowl the pan with a lid, so the leeks soften with out browning.
When the leeks are smooth and candy, pour within the inventory and convey to the boil, then add the lemon half, the entire peppercorns and a teaspoon of salt. Flip the warmth all the way down to a simmer, return the hen to the pan and let the inventory, lemon and leeks bubble gently for about half-hour until the hen is smooth and able to pull from its bones.
Take away the hen from the inventory with a draining spoon and slice the meat from the bones, maintaining the items massive and juicy. Flip up the warmth, rain the orzo into the inventory and proceed boiling for 8-10 minutes until the orzo has swelled and softened.
Add the olives, peas and parsley, and proper the seasoning. Prepare dinner for a minute or two – the stew needs to be thick and soupy – then stir within the hen and ladle into bowls.
Hen with lentils and pomegranate
Small brown or inexperienced lentils are an earthy addition to this jumble of herbs, rice, nuts and fruit. There’s a pleasing distinction of textures right here: the combination of white rice and brown lentils; the pomegranate for its pop of acidity; the toasted nuts provide a welcome crunch. I eat this heat moderately than sizzling or chilly, as a dish in its personal proper, although it might be welcome as an accompaniment too.
Serves 4
leftover roast hen 400g
inexperienced or brown lentils 150g
onion 1 medium
olive oil 2 tbsp
garlic 2 cloves
basmati rice 250g
hen inventory 500ml
orange 1
lemon 1
pomegranate 1
flaked almonds 20g
coriander leaves 3 tbsp
mint leaves 3 tbsp
Get the roast hen out of the fridge – you don’t need it to be chilly. Prepare dinner the lentils in deep, boiling water, evenly salted, for about 20 minutes until nutty and tender. Take a look at their progress once in a while, then drain them and put aside.
Peel and finely chop the onion. Heat the oil in a deep saucepan, then add the onion and let it prepare dinner for 6-10 minutes or so, till translucent, stirring repeatedly. Peel and finely chop the garlic, then stir into the onion and proceed cooking for a few minutes.
Wash the rice 3 times in a bowl of water, tipping away the cloudy water every time. Stir the rice into the pan, pour within the inventory, cowl with a lid and convey to the boil. Decrease the warmth and prepare dinner for 10 minutes.
Finely grate the zest from the orange and lemon, and take away the seeds from the pomegranate (you want about 200g). In a shallow pan over a reasonable warmth, toast the flaked almonds until golden. Tear the hen into giant items.
When the rice is prepared, stir within the zests, almonds and the pomegranate seeds, the items of hen and the herbs. Season with loads of salt, black pepper and the juice of half of the lemon.
Spiced wings with garlic butter
A recipe that appears like plenty of hassle however isn’t actually. The hen wants an hour or so in its marinade, then you definitely unfold it with garlic butter and roast it. A herb and yoghurt dressing is all it wants.
Serves 4
garlic 4 cloves
groundnut oil 1 tbsp
dried chilli flakes 2 tsp
floor cinnamon 1 tsp
limes 3
hen wings 12 giant
For the garlic butter
butter 70g, softened
garlic 2 cloves
floor chilli 1 tsp
recent ginger 2 tsp, grated to a puree
For the dressing
mint leaves 10
coriander leaves 20
garlic 1 clove
pure yoghurt 200ml
Peel 4 garlic cloves and crush them to a paste with a pinch of salt. A pestle and mortar is finest for this. Stir within the groundnut oil, chilli flakes and cinnamon. Squeeze the juice from the limes – you want about 100ml – and stir into the garlic and spices. Rub the hen wings throughout with this combination, then cowl and put aside for an hour. Just a few hours extra is not going to damage. Flip the hen wings a few times as they marinate.
Preheat the oven to 180C fan/fuel mark 6. To make the garlic butter, peel and crush the garlic and mash into the butter with a little bit salt and the bottom chilli. Stir the pureed ginger into the butter. Season with salt. Unfold the hen with the seasoned butter and place in a roasting tin. Bake for 45-50 minutes – checking repeatedly – till the wings are crisp. It’s a good suggestion to show them over midway via cooking.
Whereas the hen bakes, make the accompaniment: chop the mint and the coriander leaves, and peel and mash the garlic clove. Stir into the yoghurt with an excellent pinch of sea salt. Serve with the new hen.
Baked hen thighs, orange and chicory
The glaze – with fish sauce and ginger, soy and honey – can be utilized for any reduce of hen however I prefer it finest with brown meat. It bakes to a sticky, virtually toffee-like gloss, so I do suggest lining the roasting tin with foil or baking parchment. The sweetness wants one thing bitter such because the orange salad I recommend, or certainly one of cucumber, lime juice and spring onions. I’d be doing you a disservice if I didn’t point out they’re additionally great served chilly – a messy lunchbox deal with.
Serves 4
garlic a fats, juicy clove
lemongrass 2 stalks
sizzling crimson chillies 2 small
ginger a 40g piece
vegetable oil 1 tbsp
gentle soy sauce 1 tbsp
lime juice 1 tbsp
fish sauce 1 tbsp
runny honey 3 tbsp
hen thighs 8 giant, free vary
For the salad
blood oranges 2
chicory 2 heads
Peel the clove of garlic, crush it to a rough paste with a pinch of sea salt utilizing a pestle and mortar or the flat of a knife blade, then scrape right into a jam jar. Discard the outer leaves of the lemongrass and roughly chop the tender shoot inside (it is best to have about 20g). Put the chopped lemongrass into an electrical spice mill or espresso grinder and course of to a dry paste. (You are able to do this by hand with a pestle and mortar, although it will likely be a lot coarser in texture and jolly laborious work.) Add it to the jar.
Finely chop the chillies and their seeds, and add to the garlic and lemongrass. Peel the ginger, then grate it finely to a puree and scrape into the jar. I take advantage of a really sharp, fine-toothed grater for this.
Add the vegetable oil, soy sauce, lime juice and fish sauce, then spoon within the honey, tighten the lid and shake to mix to a skinny, syrupy marinade. Pour right into a mixing bowl or plastic zip-lock bag, add the hen thighs – complete and pores and skin on – and switch them over within the marinade till thinly coated, then put aside in a cool place for a few hours.
Set the oven at 180C fan/fuel mark 6. Line a roasting tin with kitchen foil. Switch the thighs and their marinade to the tin and bake within the oven for half-hour. Flip every bit over and return them to the oven for Quarter-hour until sticky and caramelised.
Whereas the thighs are roasting, make the salad. Take away the peel from the oranges with a pointy knife taking care to trim away all of the white pith. Minimize the orange into segments, retaining as a lot juice as doable, and put them in a bowl. Snap the chicory leaves into brief lengths and toss with the oranges. Serve with the sticky roast thighs.
