Our local butcher was selling organic chickens at half price at the end of last week so we’ve had a real chicken fest over the weekend. I bought a 2.2kg (roughly 4 3/4 lb) bird for just £7.82 instead of £15.64 which has so far yielded a generous 10 servings. And there’s still some superb stock left for a soup.
On Friday I roasted it with garlic and herbs and served it with a salad and broad beans in parsley sauce
On Saturday we had a salad of chicken, asparagus and crispy bacon with tarragon mayo.
On Sunday I stripped the carcass and made stock with it. I used the remaining meat, along with some more asparagus, broad beans, peas and tarragon to make a creamy pie filling using some of the stock and some added crème fraîche. I used roughly two thirds to make free form ‘pies’ for friends in the evening, baking puff pastry lids in the oven and using them to top the filling. (See above. Much quicker and more economical than making a pie as you don’t have to have the oven on for as long.)
Last night I used the last of the asparagus and tarragon to make a risotto for the two of us and stirred in the final portion of chicken pie filling. This worked really well, giving the risotto a really rich, creamy consistency. I also added a little grated pecorino which I’ve discovered is cheaper than parmesan.
I suppose the flavours of all these dishes was in a similar register but just different enough to make us feel we weren’t living off leftovers. It certainly didn’t feel remotely like frugal food.
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