PHOTOGRAPHYJEREMY SIMONSSTYLINGKIRSTEN JENKINSFor more from Matt each week, see:
ON SUNDAYCHICKEN A LA NORMANDE
SERVES 450g unsalted butter, chopped
1.8kg whole chicken, quartered (use
kitchen scissors or poultry shears)
100g streaky bacon, cut into 1cm strips
2 onions, finely chopped
300ml dry cider
3 Granny Smith apples, peeled,
cut into 6 wedges
2 tsp caster sugar
1 tsp lemon juice
3 tsp Dijon mustard
300ml double cream
Micro parsley and mashed potato,
to servePreheat oven to 170°C. Melt half the butter
in a large flameproof casserole with a lid
over medium heat. Season chicken and
cook for 2 minutes each side or until
evenly browned. Remove and set aside.
Add bacon and onion, and cook, stirring
occasionally, for 6 minutes or until bacon is
golden and onion is soft. Return chicken to
casserole and add cider. Bring to the boil,
then cover and roast for 1 hour 10 minutes
or until chicken is cooked through.
In the final 10 minutes of roasting,
melt remaining 25g butter in a frypan
over medium-high heat. Add apple and
sugar, and cook, turning occasionally,
for 2-4 minutes or until apple is golden.
Stir through lemon juice, then remove
from heat and cover to keep warm.
Remove casserole from oven and turn
off. Using a slotted spoon, transfer chicken
to a baking tray and return to oven to keep
warm. Place casserole over high heat and
bring cooking juices to the boil. Reduce to
a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally,
for 10 minutes or until reduced slightly.
Add mustard and cream, and simmer,
stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until
sauce coats the back of a wooden spoon.
Transfer sauce to a serving dish, top with
chicken and apple, and scatter with micro
parsley. Serve with mashed potato.FOR TOO LONG, WINTER has been vilified as the bleakest season, but I say fie to this!
I use this archaic word advisedly – basically it was a way of calling b******t on a widely
held belief – because winter is the season when old favourites really come into their
own, not just because of their comfort and taste, but also because they can be easier.
YOUR OVEN IS READY AND WAITING
Hello, old friend. Whether it’s a slow-roasted shoulder of lamb, a thick stew or a favourite
casserole, prep time is minimal and the oven does the donkey work. It’s the same when
it comes to cakes, biscuits and slices, which go so well with a pot of tea and an open fire.
THE TIME IS NOT IN THE PREP BUT ON THE STOVE
Summer salads and stir-fries take hours of chopping, and that’s before you’ve started
applying all manner of different processes or dressings to the ingredients. In winter, you
just bang everything in the pot, pop it on the stove and let the magic happen. Tough
becomes tender and hard becomes soft, thanks to the magic of time and gentle heat.
IT’S EASIER ON THE POCKET, TOO
That magical transformation means that cheaper cuts and peasant vegetables become
something very special. Rich, deep flavours develop, and those tougher meats yield up
a delicious lip-smacking stickiness. Just one tip: these rich flavours will benefit from a little
seasonal citrus, whether it’s orange zest on roast carrots, mandarin zest on slow-braised
beef cheeks, or a strip of lemon zest and a squeeze of lemon juice in your spag bol.
THE SMELL OF ROASTING COMES FREE
At my grandmother’s house, the wood-burning stove didn’t just keep the kitchen warm,
it also scented the house with the smell of ‘home’. We’ve touched on the fragrance of
roasting a hunk of animal, but those Jerusalem artichokes, fennel bulbs, and even humble
carrots, parsnips and onions, also become sweeter and stickily noble after roasting.
SIMPLER PUDDINGS TASTE GREAT
How much work are summer’s greatest desserts like trifle and homemade ice cream? Yet
how easy are winter’s equivalents, whether it’s a self-saucing chocolate pudding, apple
crumble, lemon delicious or tarte Tatin? Then there are winter fruits like roasted quinces
or rhubarb, which need little more than a dollop of creme fraiche for wonderful results.
PRESERVE, THEN ENJOY THE FRUITS OF YOUR LABOUR
Whether it’s homemade salami, passata or jar of pickles, preserving is all about
autumn’s hard work enjoyed in winter. Not that making a winter beetroot chutney,
onion jam or pineapple ketchup is too much of a chore. It’s not like washing, drying,
hulling and chopping two kilos of strawberries for summer jam, and then having to
squeeze lemons and core apples to ensure it’ll set.
THE BARBECUE IS A SMART MOVE IN WINTER
Doesn’t it make more sense to be standing over a flame when it’s 5°C rather than 35°C? In
winter, cooking on the grill is easy; at the height of summer it can be a sweaty nightmare.
Being so simple, you’re probably already making many of these winter warmers, so
here’s a braise that takes five minutes longer to prepare than its laziest seasonal cousins,
but results in a totally decadent dish of fall-apart chicken and tart wedges of pan-roasted
apples coated in a creamy Dijon sauce.Matt Preston celebrates all that’s hot
about the kitchen when it’s cold outside.I LOVE OH-SO-
SIMPLE WINTER
COOKING
I’M LOVING.
48 delicious.com.au