SAFFRON CHICKEN

I was going to call this Saffron Fruity Zesty Chicken but what a mouthful! Then thought of Cornish Chicken but that was far too pretentious! I was racking my brain trying to think of a name for this recipe, then decided on the simple!

While researching recipes for this Blog, I came to realise there are no chicken dishes in our culinary history!! Of course, we had roast chicken, but only on rare occasions. I was married, I think, before we routinely had turkey on special days. Before that it was a caponised chicken. My father was a butcher, so we were lucky in post war days and I have spoken to many older friends who never ate chicken until well into the 1950s. There are no chicken dishes in my old Recipe Book! Incredible, isn’t it? The old Cornish loved beef most of all, along with pork, game, veal and mutton. And fish and seafood of course.

So I thought I would work on creating a tasty chicken dish, using basic Cornish ingredients! Leeks were in, of course, along with a little fruit and zest. Nutmeg and lots of parsley! You cannot have a Cornish dish without those ingredients!!! So then I was left with the sauce. I decided to go for saffron, along with a little sherry and stock. Most pies are topped with a crust but many have sliced potatoes so finally I decided to plump for the potatoes.

I set about building the dish, with not a clue as to how it would turn out! [you are safe to read on… it was absolutely delicious]

For 4/5 generous servings, I used:

Double pack of mini chicken fillets, cut in half or thirds [or breasts will do, of course]

Pack of skinless, boneless chicken thighs - each cut into about 4 and trimmed of any fat

1 large shallot, finely chopped

2 large leeks, cut in half longways and chopped

zest of 1 large lemon

Rapeseed oil [olive oil is OK]

½ teaspoon nutmeg

large handful big juicy raisins [figgys]

1 ½ oz plain flour

1 ½ oz butter

½ teaspoon dried English mustard

1 level teaspoon dried mixed herbs

8 fluid oz milk

12 fl oz hot chicken stock [I used one [cheaty] chicken stock pot in boiling water]

Saffron - I wanted it full of flavour, but it is difficult for me to say how much I used. It will depend on the quality. A fair bit. Add a little at a time.

Glug of sherry [I used Amontillado]

Sea Salt and freshly ground pepper

Parsley - large handful, plus more for the top to serve.

2 - 3 lbs potatoes [a little more if you wish] sliced. [its handy to have a small mandolin]

Heat a large pan with some oil. Start frying your shallot then add, in 2 batches, the chicken to brown, grating lemon zest into each batch. Season, then transfer to an ovenproof dish. Then fry the leeks, adding more oil when needed. Add the leeks to the chicken and stir in the raisins. Sprinkle over the nutmeg. Set aside while you make the sauce.

Dry the saffron in some parchment in a warm oven for 10 mins. Crush with a rolling pin and add to the very hot chicken stock. Melt the butter in a pan, take off the heat and stir in the flour and mustard to a smooth paste. Gradually add the milk a little at a time until it is used up, then add the saffrony chicken stock and sherry and dried herbs. Add some more strands of saffron if it’s not yellow and fragrant enough. Return to the heat and keep stirring until it boils and let it cook off for 2 minutes. Season well with plenty of sea salt and pepper. Stir in the chopped parsley. Taste and check.

Pour it over the chicken, leeks and raisins and stir to evenly distribute.

Peel the potatoes and slice. In a hot pan, quickly fry the slices for half a minute or so each side, in some more rapeseed oil. Collect all the slices on kitchen paper until the batches are completed then arrange in rows on top of the chicken. Season once more with plenty of fresh ground pepper.

Bake for about 45 mins at 190 deg C, watching the potatoes and turn down if they are browning too much. 1 hour if from cold. I did mine in the morning then reheated late afternoon. Sprinkle over more parsley to serve. I also served some green beans and broccoli to accompany the chicken.

Everyone enjoyed it and took seconds!! I was thrilled! It really was delicious. Great for an informal dinner party or special meal. Or just to treat yourself. Next time I might try it in individual dishes.  Add a little more flour if you want a thicker sauce - this is medium. It had also crossed my mind to maybe add a few chopped dried apricots along with the raisins.