Movement was the theme of the weekend, and there was plenty of it in Notting Hill on Friday night as psychedelic beat mechanic Nick Brennan, better know as Tripswitch, kept everyones semiconductor fuses on short circuit, playing a high voltage set of records that electrified with mega watt intensity.
There was no let up on Saturday as England oscillated past Wales to win the triple crown, and then progressed to winners of the Six Nations rugby tournament when Scotland beat France, making advancement for anyone else a mathematical impossibility.
A visit on Sunday to the Tate Modern kept the momentum on course where a show of works by Alexander Calder emphasized the American sculptors motion manifesto. I actually left the vehicle by Warwick avenue Underground and took the tube to insure no letting up of pace. When I returned, I discovered I’d left the car engine running throughout the day; thankfully for me not everything was in such a hurry to be moved, although we have changed our chicken main course and I write with the recipe below.
Free-range chicken breast, stuffed leg, broccoli, beetroot, and shiitake
1 whole free-range chicken
-butcher the chicken. Retaining the breasts, wings and thighs.
Chicken mousse stuffing
1 free-range chicken breast- skinned and sinew removed, weigh, chill
same weight of double cream as prepped chicken breast-very cold
1 shallot-finely chopped
1 cloves of garlic-crushed
1 sprigs of thyme- picked and chopped
50g butter
Sea salt
-cook shallot and garlic until soft, add thyme, drain on kitchen paper, and chill.
-blend chicken and a large pinch of salt until smooth, then add double cream. Keep agitating, and blend until fully combined.
-add the shallot, garlic and thyme mix. Gently combine, then put in a piping bag.
-remove bone from the chicken thigh, pipe the mousse into the space left by the bone. Roll in cling film, and put a knot in both ends.
-bring a medium size pan of water to the boil, add the rolled thighs, and bring back to the boil. Turn to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes.
-preheat oven to 190 degrees c
-season the chicken breast and the chicken thigh and cook skin side down in a hot pan. When the skin starts to colour, place in the oven. Cook for 8-12mins.
Roasted wing jus
2 chicken wings- chopped into small pieces
1 glass of red wine
1 shallot
1 clove of garlic
50g butter
25ml olive oil
250ml chicken jus
– melt the butter and oil, and roast the wings until lightly golden. Then add shallot and garlic, and continue to roast until lightly coloured.
– Drain the fat off, then deglaze with red wine, add thyme. Reduce by 2/3. Then add chicken jus.
-Simmer for 20 minutes, then strain. Reduce again to desired consistency.
Broccoli puree and roasted stalk
1 head broccoli
50g butter
xantham gum
salt and pepper
-remove florets from the stalk and cut down large pieces to ensure everything is roughly the same size.
-bring medium size pan of salted water to the boil, add the broccoli. Cook until tender, then refresh in iced water reserving some of the water that you have cooked the broccoli in.
-drain the broccoli when cold, and blend. Add a little of the cooking water if needed to agitate the mix. Add the tip of a small knife of xantham gum to the mix, check seasoning, and blend until smooth.
Boiled beetroot
2 bunched beetroot
salt to taste
100g sugar
150ml red wine vinegar
-cover the beetroot with water, then add salt, sugar and vinegar.
-bring to the boil, turn down the heat to a simmer and cook until tender
-peel while still warm. Then cut into wedges.
Beetroot ketchup
600g beetroot juice
10g table salt
6g agar agar
200g red wine vinegar
80g light brown sugar
50g soy sauce
-600g juice, take to 95 deg cel, add agar agar, and blitz for two mins with hand blender.
-blitz regularly, while cooling.
-combine vinegar and sugar, bring to boil, then set aside to cool.
-add to fluid gel to taste, along with soy. pass.
Pickled shiitake
200g shiitake mushrooms
150ml red wine vinegar
100ml water
50ml soy sauce
100g brown sugar
20g frech ginger- sliced
1 red chilli
-slice shiitake into 1/2cm slices.
-bring rest of ingredient to boil, add shiitake. Bring back to boil, then chill.
Crispy quinoa
100g quinoa
-cook quinoa in a pan of boiling water until soft, drain and refresh with cold water, drain.
-spread on greaseproof paper, and dry fully in oven at 120 degrees c.
-heat a small pan of oil to 190 deg c, fry the quinoa until crispy (about 30sec), then strain through a sieve and drain on kitchen paper.
