Main content

Roast chicken salad

Roast Chicken salad with walnuts, grapes, celery and cheese

1 small roasting chicken

1 tablespoon olive oil

100ml white wine or water

Seasalt

75g walnuts

175g red seedless grapes, halved

3 sticks celery, finely sliced

100g smoked cheddar, cut into ½ cm dice

250ml sour cream

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

2 tablespoons chopped soft herbs – basil, tarragon, parsley all work well

Set the oven to 210oc.

Place the chicken in a roasting tray and rub all over with the oil. Sprinkle with salt and roast for 20 minutes. Add the wine to the tray and lower the heat to 160oc. Cook for another hour, basting regularly with the juices, or until the juices run clear in the leg when you insert a knife. Freeze any juices for making gravy later.

Rest the chicken for half an hour. Shred all the meat and place in a bowl.

Toast the walnuts in a dry pan over high heat for a minute, tossing regularly.

Roughly chop and add to the chicken with the other ingredients.

Serve on a bed of lettuce.

Tear and Share bread

350g strong bread flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon honey

275ml lukewarm water

1 sachet yeast

1 egg

2 tablespoons olive oil or local rapeseed oil

Mix the flour, salt and yeast in a bowl. Whisk the water and honey together and add to the flour mixture with the egg and oil. Mix to a dough and turn onto a floured surface. Knead for about 10 minutes. Place in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with a damp teatowel or cling and leave at room temperature for an hour.

After an hour knock the dough and knead together.

Divide into 20 roughly equal sized pieces.

Roll each into a ball and place in a floured baking tray about ½ cm apart.

Leave for 20 minutes.

Set the oven to 190oc and cook the bread for about 20 minutes or until golden brown and firm to touch. Brush with oil. Leave in the tin for 10 minutes then remove and serve.