Spring Chicken! Low-cost CHICKEN WINNERS

Recipe 1

Spanish-style chicken drumsticks with romesco sauce

Give your weeknight chicken and chips a welcome upgrade with this vibrant sauce.

Serves 4 | Prep 20 mins | Cook 1 HR

Ingredients

• 750g small roasting potatoes, halved
• 4-6 chicken drumsticks
• 2tsp ground paprika
• 180g bunch of asparagus
• Knob of butter
• Wedge of lemon

For the romesco sauce:

• 150g whole almonds, toasted
• 200g roasted red peppers from a jar, drained
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2tsp ground paprika
• ½tbsp sherry vinegar
• Juice ¼ lemon, plus wedges to serve
• 200ml extra virgin olive oil

Method

1. Heat the oven to 180C Fan/Gas 6. Put the potatoes in a large saucepan with salt, cover with cold water and bring to a boil for 5 mins. Drain then steam-dry.
2. Put the asparagus, knob of butter and lemon wedge in a foil parcel. Season and seal, then bake for the final 15 mins.
3. While the asparagus cooks, whizz the sauce ingredients in a food processor, taste for seasoning, and adjust with salt and vinegar. Whizz again until mostly smooth with a light grainy texture.
4. Gently warm 250g — just over half — of the sauce. Save the rest in a container and chill; see tip. Divide the sauce between 4 plates and top with the potatoes, chicken and asparagus. Serve with lemon wedges.

Per Serving

550 cals, 35g fat, 8g sat fat, 20g carbs

Recipe 2

Golden chicken thighs with wild garlic pesto butter beans

Perfect spring one-pan silky butter beans with flavour-boosting pesto, topped with golden chicken thighs

Serves 4 | Prep 20 mins | Cook 40-50 Mins

Ingredients

• 30g pine nuts, toasted
• 30g Parmesan
• 1 bunch wild garlic — or use 1 small pack of basil, 1 garlic clove and a handful of spinach
• Juice ¼ lemon
• 50ml extra virgin olive oil

Method

1. In a small blender, whizz the pesto ingredients to a paste. Taste to adjust the seasoning and lemon juice.
2. Reduce the heat to low and sweat the onion with the thyme sprig and a pinch of salt until translucent. Add the crushed garlic for the final minute.
3. Add the butter beans with the liquid from the jar, white wine, stock cube and lemon juice. Put the chicken thighs on top and cook over low-medium heat for around 20 mins, until the liquid has reduced and the chicken is cooked. Stir through the spinach to wilt.
4. Pick out the thyme and stir through the pesto. Garnish with extra thyme leaves if you fancy.

Per Serving

550 cals, 35g fat, 8g sat fat, 20g carbs

Recipe 3

Creamy chicken and peas

With crispy skin and a creamy sauce, this is a comforting combo that will be popular with guests.

Serves 4-6 | Prep 30 mins | Cook 1 HR

Ingredients

• 1tbsp olive oil
• 8 chicken pieces, 4 legs, or 1 large chicken, jointed
• 2 shallots, sliced
• 2 sticks celery, chopped
• 6 garlic cloves, bashed
• 1 bunch spring onions, chopped
• 300ml dry white wine
• 300ml chicken stock
• 1 heaped tbsp Dijon mustard
• 2 large strips lemon zest, plus grated zest to serve
• 1 bunch tarragon, chopped
• 100g full-fat crème fraiche
• 200g frozen garden peas

Method

1. Heat the oil in a wide, lidded sauté pan. Season the chicken with salt and cook in several batches over a medium heat, skin-side down, until the skin is crisp and golden, then set aside.
2. Pour in the wine, scraping any stuck-on bits from the base of the pan, and simmer for a few minutes until reduced by half, then add the stock, mustard, lemon zest strips and half the tarragon. Season with more salt and plenty of black pepper, then return the chicken to the pan.
3. Cover with a tight-fitting lid and reduce the heat to a very gentle simmer. Cook for 30 mins, then remove the lid and cook for a further 30 mins.
4. Once cooked, remove the chicken from the pan, and whisk in the crème fraiche and peas. Simmer for 2-3 mins, then return the chicken to the pan, and scatter over the rest of the tarragon and grated lemon zest. Serve with buttery mashed potato, or crusty bread.

Per Serving

374 cals, 20g fat, 8g sat fat, 10g carbs