Pot-roast chicken cooked in herby crème fraîche

A really lovely, summery way of cooking roast chicken from Olia Hercules beautiful new book Summer Kitchens.

Olia writes: "Chicken smothered and baked in cultured cream is an old classic, but sometimes I like to go one step further. I use a lot of herbs at home, and sometimes I am left with quite a few stalks: dill, parsley, basil and coriander stalks all work well when stirred into the crème fraîche. By the time the chicken is cooked, this turns into the most amazing sauce.

I like serving this with chunks of good bread and boiled cabbage or the cabbage and cucumber salad, but it would also be lovely with new potatoes or a buttery lemon rice pilau. Any leftovers are delicious stirred through hot stubby pasta."

SERVES 6

150ml crème fraîche
25g dill and/or parsley or their stalks, roughly chopped
4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1 tbsp rapeseed oil
1 large chicken, about 1.4kg Sea salt and black pepper

Blitz the crème fraîche, herbs, garlic and a generous pinch of salt in a food processor until smooth. Taste, and add more salt if needed, and some pepper.

Pour the oil into a roasting tin, add the chicken and spread the herby crème fraîche all over it, inside and out. If you have time, cover and leave to marinate for a couple of hours at room temperature, or in the fridge overnight.

Preheat the oven to 200°C/Fan 180°C/Gas Mark 6.

Cover the chicken loosely with foil and roast for 45 minutes, basting it a couple of times, if you remember. Take off the foil and cook for another 15–20 minutes, or until the legs come away from the body with ease and the juices run clear from the thickest part of the thigh when it is pierced with the tip of a knife.

Take the chicken out of the oven and let it rest for 5–10 minutes. Pull the tender meat from the bones with two forks and mix through the roasting juices, then serve.

What to drink: Although you could - and might well want to - drink a red wine with this (a Loire cabernet franc such as a Saumur-Champigny or Chinon would work well) with all these herbs I'd be inclined to drink a dry white. I'm thinking Hungarian Furmint or Austrian Grüner Veltliner but Italian white wines would work well to. As would a pale dry rosé.

What wine - or other drinks - should you pair with herbs?

Extract taken from Summer Kitchens by Olia Hercules (£26, Bloomsbury). Recipe photography © Joe Woodhouse

Chicken, cider and Cheddar crumble

There's been a decided nip in the air these last few evenings so I don't think it's too soon to make this comforting savoury crumble from James Rich's new book, Apple.

James writes: "This makes for a warming, wholesome supper and can be made ahead of time and chilled until needed. Just leave the final baking until about half an hour before you want to serve."

Serves 6

Prep 20 mins

Cook 40 mins

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

2 celery stalks, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed

100 g (3½ oz) mushrooms, sliced

350 g (12 oz) skinless boneless chicken thighs, cut into chunks

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 cooking apple, such as a Bramley, peeled and cored

1 tablespoon wholegrain mustard

200 ml (7 fl oz/scant 1 cup) dry cider

100 g (3½ oz/scant ½ cup) crème fraîche

salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the crumble

250 g (9 oz/2 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour

1 teaspoon mustard powder

salt and freshly ground black pepper

150 g (5 oz) butter, at room temperature, diced (though I'd use chilled butter FB)

150 g (5 oz) mature Cheddar, grated (shredded)

30 g (1 oz/¼ cup) hazelnuts, chopped

Preheat a fan oven to 200°C (400°F/gas 6).

Heat the oil in a large frying pan (skillet) over a medium heat and fry the onion, celery and carrots for 5 minutes until they begin to soften. Add the garlic and mushrooms and fry for a further 3 minutes.

Add the chicken and oregano to the pan and continue frying for another 10 minutes until the chicken begins to brown.

Cut the apple into 8 wedges, add to the pan and fry for a further 2 minutes.

Next, add the mustard and stir in well. Then pour in the cider and increase the heat. Cook on a high heat for 3–5 minutes until the alcohol has burnt off and liquid has reduced by about a quarter. Turn off the heat, stir in the crème fraîche and season to taste with salt and pepper. Then transfer to a large baking dish.

To make the crumble topping, put the flour, mustard powder and some salt and pepper in a bowl and mix together. Add the butter, then rub between your fingers and thumbs (or pulse in a food processor FB) until you have a breadcrumb-like mixture. Stir in the cheese and hazelnuts and mix well.

Top the apple, chicken and cider with the crumble and bake in the oven for 25 minutes or until the crumble is golden brown and crunchy. Serve with your favourite vegetables.

What to drink: Well, it really has to be cider in my view but you could go for a rich chenin blanc or a chardonnay.

Extracted from Apple: Recipes from the Orchard by James Rich, published by Hardie Grant at £20. Photograph © Jacqui Melville.

Lavash, chicken & herb pie with barberries

A really lovely summery recipe from Olia Hercules most recent book Kaukasis.

You may have seen Olia on Saturday Kitchen or Sunday Brunch - she's a young, beautiful and hugely talented Ukrainian-born chef and cookery writer. I love her food because it contains recipes and ingredients you never find in restaurants or, indeed at friends' houses - but they can be at yours!

The only thing you need to bear in mind about this ridiculously good pie is that it's not nearly big enough! The book says it's enough for six which I can only imagine is the case if you are having a massive Armenian feast. Three of us made short work of it so I would make at least double.

You also need barberries, lavash and a LOT of herbs so plan ahead and make something else from the book to use them up - or the fabulous tomato, cucumber and radish salad from Olia's first book Mamushka which is also excellent.

I've added my notes to Olia's instructions.

Olia writes: "This is an extremely simple dish, taught to me by an Armenian friend, and one of the best ways to turn chicken leftovers into something mind-blowing, although it would be totally worth poaching a whole chicken just to make this."

Serves 6 (though I'd make double for this number!)

100g (3½oz) Homemade matsoni (the recipe for which is in the book) or natural yogurt

2 garlic cloves, grated

a pinch of saffron threads (optional but I used them, warming them in a metal measuring cup first then crumbling them into the yoghurt)

a pinch of cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon dried barberries (or sultanas)

200g (7oz) poached chicken meat, torn into chunks

1 tablespoon chopped spring onions

1 tablespoon chopped coriander

1 tablespoon chopped dill

1 tablespoon chopped tarragon

50g (1¾oz) unsalted butter, melted

1 large piece of Armenian or Persian lavash (or any other thin flatbread)

1 tablespoon sunflower seeds (or sesame, pumpkin or linseed)

sea salt flakes

Mix the yogurt, garlic, saffron, cayenne and barberries together, then add the chicken, spring onions and herbs. Season well with salt and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F), Gas Mark 4. Grease a shallow 15 x 20cm (6 x 8 inch) baking dish with some of the melted butter.

Place one layer of lavash in the dish, brush with melted butter then spread over the filling. Cover with another layer of lavash (tear it to fit). Brush with melted butter and sprinkle over the seeds.

Bake for 15 minutes until heated through, the top is golden and the seeds are toasted. (I found it took slightly longer than this - about 25 minutes - to brown the top)

Tip This is a perfect way in which to use up leftover cooked chicken (and Christmas turkey I'd have thought) But it is also a great way to use up stale flatbreads; because you cover them with butter and the filling is so moist, the flatbreads revive beautifully in the oven.

What to drink: We drank a light Sicilian red called Frappato but other light fruity reds like Beaujolais or Chinon or even a dry rosé would work too.

Extracted from Kaukasis which is published by Mitchell Beazley at £25.

Duckstrami

Last weekend our cooking group cooked up an American barbecue of which this brilliant recipe from the Hang Fire Cookbook was the standout dish so I really wanted to share it with you.

As Sam and Shauna say you can serve it cold but we had it hot and it was utterly delicious so I wouldn't hesitate to double the quantity.

NOTE - just to reiterate you need to start it two days in advance

Duckstrami

SERVES 2–4

Cooking methods: Curing, Indirect Grilling/Smoking

Wood: Apple, Pear, Cherry

What’s not to like about duck pastrami? This is a great recipe that we’ve been making for the past couple of years and it really isn’t as complex as you might think. You can eat it cold, shave it over salad served with a nice punchy blackberry reduction, have it as part of a charcuterie board, or make the most awesome duck Reuben. As with all cured meats, this is gonna take patience, you’re looking at starting the recipe two days in advance.

4 good-quality duck breasts (about 250g each)

For the Cure

100g fine sea salt

2 tsp cracked black pepper

2 tsp soft dark brown sugar

1 tbsp garlic powder

8 juniper berries, ground

3 bay leaves, ground

1 tsp mixed spice

2 tsp ground coriander

For the Rub

4 tbsp coarsely ground black pepper

2 tbsp coarsely ground coriander seeds

1 tbsp garlic granules

½ tsp mixed spice

First make the cure. In a small bowl, thoroughly combine the cure ingredients. Coat the duck breasts entirely with cure and place in a large ziplock bag. Place in the coldest part of the refrigerator and cure for 48 hours, flipping the bag twice a day.

Place the duck breasts in a large container and fill with water. Allow to soak for 1 hour. Drain and pat them dry with kitchen towel.

Next, combine the ingredients for the rub in a small bowl.Coat the duck breasts entirely with the rub.

Fire up your smoker or grill to 110°C/225°F. Add chunks of cherry wood (or other fruit wood). When the wood is ignited and starts to smoke, put in the duck breasts, skin side down. Smoke for 1 hour, or until an instant-read thermometer reads 74°C/165°F when inserted into the centre of the breasts. (We cooked this on a gas barbecue for a shorter time (see below) and it was still delicious)

Remove from the smoker/barbecue and allow to rest for 10 minutes.

We prefer to wrap the duck breasts in cling film for at least 24 hours before we eat them, giving the flavours a chance to settle. If you want to reheat the duckstrami, we find that steaming it using a bamboo steamer is best. This warms the pastrami gently without direct heat which could cause it to dry out. Any meat you’re not using can be frozen for up to 3 months, or will keep for up to 1 week in the fridge. It’s a really versatile meat, and not as gamey as regular duck.

What to drink: This is unlikely to be the only dish you're serving - we had an array of other dishes including salads, pickles and ketchups so look to a full-flavoured red to cope with them all. Given the rub I'd favour a good cru Beaujolais like a Morgon rather than the usual pinot noir but a bright fruity syrah or syrah/grenache/mourvedre (GSM) blend would work well too. Or a amber ale.

From The Hang Fire Cookbook: Recipes and Adventures in American BBQ by Samantha Evans & Shauna Guinn (Quadrille, £20) Photography © Paul Winch-Furness