Perfect poached chicken
Ingredients
- 4 potatoes, skin on
- 1 free-range chicken
- 4 carrots, peeled and diced (reserve the tops)
- 200ml milk, warm
- 180g butter, cold and cubed
- olive/avocado oil, for frying
- 200g mixed mushrooms
- 1 packet baby watercress
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Bake the potatoes for 45 minutes.
Remove the legs from the chicken.
Place skin-side down in a large saucepan over medium heat so that the skin browns slightly.
Cover with water (put the tops of the carrots into the water for stock) and bring to the boil. Poach for 8 minutes, then remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
Scoop the flesh out of the baked potatoes and combine with the warmmilk. Whisk until smooth and transfer to a steel bowl.
Whisk 150g of the cold butter into the potato mixture until you have a silky purée.
Sauté the carrots in a little oil until soft, then transfer to a jug and blend with the remaining butter until smooth.
Take the chicken breasts off the bone and fry skin-side down in a non-stick pan until the skin is crispy.
Remove the chicken thighs from the stock and take the bone out. Fry until crispy.
Remove the chicken from the pan and sauté the mushrooms in the same pan.
To serve, slice the chicken breasts and arrange on top of the thighs. Garnish with the mushrooms and watercress and serve with the potato and carrot purées.
Neill Anthony is a personal chef based in Cape Town. For private dining or party enquiries call 072 584 7851 or visit www.neillanthony.com.
