Delicious UK - (11)November 2020

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60 deliciousmagazine.co.uk

make meatballs, placing them

on the baking sheet or board

as you go. You should end up

making about 40.

9 Drop the meatballs into the

sauce in concentric circles,

easing them in gently. Try to

get the meatballs covered by

the sauce and then bring to a

bubble. At which point, clamp

on the lid, turn the heat down

a bit, and let it simmer robustly

for 15 minutes.

10 Take off the lid and give the

pan a very gentle stir, then

leave without a lid for another

15 minutes, simmering a little

less robustly now, by which

time the meatballs should

be cooked through, and the

sauce divinely intense.

11 Check the sauce for

seasoning, then leave off the

heat for 5-10 minutes. While

you wait, chop some chives

(and parsley if wished) to

sprinkle over. Ladle into

bowls and eat joyfully with

bread and butter or a buttery

bowl of colcannon.

Chicken with garlic

cream sauce

SERVES 4, OR 6 IF YOU GET A BIGGER

CHICKEN OR BOOST WITH EXTRA

CHICKENPORTIONS

There is something

old-fashioned and

comforting about a cream

sauce. It’s so rare to come

across these days, and

I think it’s time we

welcomed it back. If you

prefer, you can replace

the spatchcocked chicken

in the recipe with 8 chicken

thighs,or 12 ifyouwantto

feed6.There’smorethan

enoughsauce.Andshould

youwishtoaddanchovies

tothesauce,gorightahead

• justchopupasmany
  filletsasyouwant,adding
  themtothecreamalong
  withthegarlic.

MAKE

AHEAD

Preparesaucetoend

ofstep5 upto1 day

ahead,coverand

refrigerate.Reheatina

saucepan,stirring,untilpiping

hot,thenaddchickenjuices.

STORE

Refrigerate chicken

and sauce leftovers,

covered, for up to

3 days. Reheat sauce in a

saucepan until piping hot.

Reheat chicken in microwave

or transfer to an ovenproof

dish, cover with foil and heat

in 180°C/160°C fan oven until

piping hot. Or eat cold.

FREEZE

Freeze leftover chicken

on its own in an airtight

container for up to

3 months. Defrost overnight

in fridge. Reheat as above.

FOR THE CHICKEN

• 1 chicken (approx 1.5kg)
  spatchcocked (or see step 1)


• 1 teaspoon sea salt flakes (or
  ½ teaspoon fine sea salt),
  plus more for sprinkling


• 2 fat cloves of garlic


• 2 x 15ml tablespoons (30g)
  soft unsalted butter


• 75ml dry white vermouth (or
  wine) combined with 75ml
  cold water (or use 150ml
  light chicken stock in place
  of the vermouth and water,
  if preferred)

FOR THE SAUCE

• 300ml double cream


• 4 fat cloves of garlic


• A good grinding of pepper


• Sea salt flakes to taste


• 3 x 15ml tablespoons finely
  chopped flatleaf parsley


• 3 x 15ml tablespoons finely
  chopped chives

1 If you haven’t got a butcher to

spatchcock the chicken for you,

do not worry – it’s easy enough

to do yourself. Indeed, it’s a

task I take a perhaps unseemly

delight in. Put the chicken,

breast-side down, in a large

but fairly shallow roasting tin

(I use one that measures

34 x 37 x 5cm) and push down

on it until you hear a satisfying

crunch. With some good

kitchen scissors or poultry

shears, cut through each side

of the backbone, remove it,

leaving it in the tin, then turn

the chicken the other way up.

Now press onto the breast to

flatten it a little more.

2 Flip the chicken breast-side

down again and sprinkle ½

teaspoon of sea salt flakes (or

¼ teaspoon of fine sea salt)

over the inside of the chicken.

Peel the 2 cloves of garlic and

mince or grate over the

chicken, too, and rub lightly

into the meat. Leave for 30

minutes or so to let the chicken

come to room temperature.

3 Pour the cream into a small

saucepan (I use one of 14cm

diameter). Peel the 4 cloves of

garlic, and mince or grate into

the cream, add a good grinding

of pepper, stir well, and bring

to a boil, then turn down and

let it bubble away for 3 minutes.

Don’t worry about the cream

boiling, just don’t let it boil

over. Stir regularly with a

silicon spatula so that you can

scrape down the sides as well.

Take the pan off the heat, cover

with a lid or foil and let it steep

while the chicken cooks.

4 Heat the oven to 220°C/200°C

fan. Turn the chicken the right

way up, smear the soft butter

over the skin, and sprinkle with

the remaining ½ teaspoon of

sea salt flakes (or ¼ teaspoon

of fine sea salt). Pour the

vermouth and water (replacing

both with light chicken stock if

you prefer) into the tin around

the chicken. Transfer to the

oven to cook for approx 45

minutes, by which time the skin

should be golden and crisp, and

the meat completely cooked

through. The juices should run

clear if you use the tip of a knife

to pierce where the thigh meets

the body (or just waggle the

thigh to see if it feels loose).

Transfer the chicken to a

carving board and let it rest for

10 minutes. Pour the juices

from the roasting tin into your

saucepan of cream, scraping

up any golden sticky bits.

5 While the chicken is resting,

bring the cream sauce to just

under a boil, then turn the

heat down and let it simmer

gently for 5 minutes, keeping

an eye on the pan and stirring

regularly. Taste to see if you

want to add salt and pour into

a warmed jug. Add most of

the chopped parsley and

chives to the jug and stir.

6 Cut up the chicken and

arrange on a warmed platter.

Pour over a little of the sauce

and sprinkle with the remaining

herbs. Bring the jug to the table

with the chicken so that people

can pour more over as they eat.

It’s a lot of sauce, but that’s the

way we like it. Should you have

any left over, warm it up, add

a little grated Parmesan and

some more freshly chopped

parsley or chives, toss with

pasta or drizzle over steamed

new potatoes or, frankly,

anything you’d like.

Recipes taken from Cook, Eat,

Repeat by Nigella Lawson

(Chatto & Windus £26);

photographs: Jonathan Lovekin.