Recipes, Chicken Recipes

Poached chicken

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An absolute favourite this is a delightfully tasty and, in a way, medicinal respite from days of overeating. Clean and light it is also very easy to prepare and, once the majority is eaten, transform the remains into a broth – perhaps with the addition of barley.

Summer Poached Chicken with Cucumber Relish

Serves 6

Ingredients

Shop the ingredients

Directions

  1. Take a large pot that owns a lid and place it over a medium heat.
  2. Toast the coriander seeds until their smell comes to the nose and then turn off the heat.
  3. Place the chicken in the bottom of the pan and cover with cold water.
  4. Place all the vegetables snugly around the chicken and add the herbs and spices plus 3 tsp of flaked sea salt (seems a lot but the stock needs it).
  5. Turn the heat back on, bring up to a simmer and then turn it down to little more than a wobble. Add the lid remembering that the heat will increase so check and alter after a few minutes.
  6. While the chicken cooks salt the cucumber with a single tsp of flaked sea salt and allow to drip drain in a sieve over a bowl.
  7. Cook the chicken for an hour or so or until the internal temperature of the breast is 75°C.
  8. After an hour, wring out the cucumber of as much extra juice as possible and put it in a nice bowl.
  9. Stir the remaining ingredients into the cucumber and serve alongside the carved chicken dished up with a little juice and the vegetables.

Valentine Warner is a chef, food writer, business owner and broadcaster, with a deep interest in nature, travel and provincial food. He describes his cooking style as ‘International Grandmother’ and combines his strong sense of storytelling with his infectious love of cookery. Val has a deep respect and understanding of ingredients, both wild and cultivated, and has the instinctive ability to rustle up hearty and wholesome meals from whatever’s available. Val is an avid proponent of native food sources, and finds common ground with Swaledale in their work to deliver top-notch meat, within a truthful, ethical and high welfare framework. Originally a trained portrait painter, Val has also authored 5 cookbooks, managed his own catering company and is a co-owner of Taqueria, a West London Mexican cafe. Val is also a partner in the Hepple Distillery in Northumberland and Holmen Lofoten hotel on arctic Norway’s Lofoten island.