SUMMER // Recipe for four
Smoked hen, creamed corn and sprouted grains
I would never use anything other than organically farmed, free-range chickens – I can’t stand even the thought of caged birds. These ladies have a good amount of fat on them and the sprouted grains we use in the dish are those that the birds generally feed on. Once the grains are sprouted, we warm them in duck fat and they take on a beautifully nutty characteristic.
SPROUTED GRAINS
30 g (1 oz) brown lentils
30 g (1 oz) rye
30 g (1 oz) brown peas
30 g (1 oz) barley
60 ml (2 fl oz) melted duck fat
10 g (¼ oz) salt
Mix together all the grains. Line a tray with layers of kitchen paper folded to about 1 cm (½ in) thick. Moisten the paper and sprinkle the grains over the top. Fill a spray bottle with water and spray the grains every 2 hours for 3 days. Keep the tray covered in a warm, dark place. Once the grains have sprouted and you are ready to serve, heat them in warm duck fat and salt.
SMOKED HEN
1 organic chicken (approximately 1.2 kg/2 lb 11 oz)
100 ml (3½ fl oz) olive oil
200 g (7 oz) hay
80 g (23/4 oz) salted butter
2 teaspoons vinegar of barley grain
Remove the legs, wings and neck from the bird (keep these pieces for the hen and onion juices, right), leaving just the two breasts on the frame. Put the frame with the olive oil in a vacuum bag and seal. Cook in a water bath for 42 minutes at 64°C (147°F). Leave to cool, then chill.
To build a smoker, take a deep oven tray and build a small fire in it with the hay. Smother the fire by putting a flat tray on top of the deep tray, locking in all the smoke. Lift off the flat tray and put a wire rack with the chicken frame on the smothered fire. Replace the flat tray to lock in the smoke. Leave for about 20 minutes, then lift off and rebuild the fire. Repeat the smoking twice more.
Put the smoked chicken in the fridge to chill and then cook, skin-side-down, until it has a good colour.
While the chicken is cooking, melt the butter. Turn and baste the chicken in hot butter several times until golden and crisp. Cut the breasts off the frame, then slice and dress with the vinegar.
HEN AND ONION JUICES
Left-over chicken parts from smoked hen, left
1 tablespoon olive oil
6 brown onions, cut into large pieces
6 garlic cloves, crushed
Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and roast the chicken parts for 15 minutes until brown. Heat the olive oil in a large stockpot and sauté the onion and garlic until soft. Add the chicken parts, cover with water and cook, uncovered, over low heat for 6 hours. Strain, bring the stock back to the boil and reduce by half.
Slice the kernels from the corn. Juice the corn kernels (best done in a juicer as the corn is then thickened by its own natural starches. If you don’t have a juicer, blend the corn and then push it through a sieve). Put the corn in a pan and cook over low heat, stirring continuously until it thickens. Add the soured cream and season with the salt.
PLANTS TO FINISH
Purslane leaves
Rue
