FLOWER POT KITCHEN: April 2024

2 Apr 2024

CRISPY CRACKLING CHICKEN THIGHS

What's better than Crackling, Chicken Crackling thats what!

What a great family show stopper dinner that will have everyone running to the table! A simple dinner that is elevated to the highest flavour levels just simply by the the cooking method! I cook crispy crackling chicken thighs all the time, in fact several times a week as my hubby uses them as (fridglet nibblits) but their never as fully crisped up as this, just a little tweak in the preparation and cooking method has made this our all new family favourite. Serve with mayo slaw, flat breads and siracha, stuff, wrap and enjoy.

Cooking time 15 minutes

Ingredients

(Serves 4)

8 chicken thighs boned out

Himalayan sea salt

1 tbsp vegetable oil

Place your cast iron skillet on a medium high heat.

Season the thighs with the salt, place the vegetable oil in the skillet, place the thighs skin side down in the skillet.

Leave the chicken skin side down for around six minutes, don't be tempted to turn it over or check it, this is how the crispy crackling skin is made.

At six minutes lift up the thighs to check for crispy crackling, if golden brown and crispy then turn over, if not cook for a further 2 minutes, then turn over and cook for a further 2 minutes.

Remove the skillet from the heat and leave the chicken to rest, uncovered, for a few minutes before serving.

Serving suggestions, glorious buttery mashed potatoes or flatbreads, slaw and salad.

PAELLA VALENCIANA CRISPY CRACKLING CHICKEN AND PRAWN

Big Green Egg Cooking

Indirect cooking 200 C - 220 C.

Equipment:

Paella pan for two or shallow casserole dish, lid or foil.

10 minutes preparation / 20 minutes cooking

Ingredients

(serves 2)

100ml olive oil

1 knob of butter for the prawns

1 tsp sea salt

10 grinds pepper mill fresh black pepper

6 cloves garlic sliced (reserve one for the prawns

1 Spanish onion finely diced

3 chicken thighs skin on, boneless

3 large fresh prawns head and shell on

1 cooking chorizo diced

250g Spanish Calasparra rice

1.3 litres chicken stock

1 good pinch saffron (Spanish La Mancha)

1 tsp smoked paprika

2 sprigs thyme leaves chopped

1 tbsp fresh chopped parsley

Place your paella pan or a shallow casserole dish on the Big Green Egg, add the olive oil, season the chicken thighs skin side only with the salt, place the chicken thighs skin side down in the pan, Do Not Turn for 8 minutes, this will ensure you create crispy chicken crackling skin, turn over and cook for a further 2-3 minutes, remove from the pan, keeping all the chicken fat in the pan and reserve to one side, uncovered.

To the pan add the onions, garlic and chorizo to the pan, soften for 10 minutes.

Add the saffron, smoked paprika, thyme and black pepper, stir once to combine.

Add the rice, stir once to combine.

Add the chicken stock and again stir only once to combine, this is so you do not release the starch and end up making the paella stodgy and more like a risotto.

Cook for 12 minutes until almost all the chicken stock has been absorbed, this will result in (socarrat) a crispy caught bottom of the paella, the best bit !

Place the prawns in a pan with a glug of olive oil, a knob of butter and sliced garlic, cook for 1.5 minutes each side, then nestle in the paella and push into the rice, take the paella off the heat and leave to rest for five minutes with a lid on or a foil tent.

Remove the lid, add the reserved chicken thighs and nestle into the paella, rest for a further 2 minutes then serve immediately.

Enjoy with family, warm fresh sour dough bread and a beautiful bottle of red wine.

LIFE MY PASSION

Welcome to my daily life of cooking, one winters day many years ago my family and I were all inspired by a back to back rainy day of River Cottage this got us to stop talking about and start actually doing, suddenly three weeks later eight vegetable beds were dug, greenhouse erected and our first vegetables were propagating, this was the start to raising and growing our own food, our fabulous son Oscar changed our path in life which lead us to sell our small thriving restaurant of 10 yrs and to start our new life (Terrifying!) a life of the self sufficient in touch with nature and seasons, taking a step back and looking forward to a slower change of pace and making the most of every moment.

My passion for cooking was stronger than ever and having time at home with Oscar I found I had a new direction and I was no longer striving for perfection, I was suddenly very passionate for the enjoyment of the other side of food, something I had not realised, being the Chef/Cook and every other duty of your own small restaurant made me see that I never actually took time to cook what I wanted!

So there I was muddy boots and hands digging deep in more than one sense and I found myself transported back in time to where everyone grew some of their own food, it is a wonderful world with a real sense of achievement and loss, Slugs Snails and Caterpillars! But thats another story! Childhood memories of summers when I lived with my grand parents reminded me of so much that I had learnt about the make do and mend generation that I had forgotten.

Now as a family we love our free wild food days where we gather what nature has provided, have gone from being mini mini garden urban small holders, who did raised pigs at home because we could not wait to find land and supporting ourselves from our garden to now owning a very small farm that allows us to grow more vegetables for the whole of our family and neighbours, raise our own gorgeous Gloucestershire Old Spot pigs, (Sausages!) and pets! Dorset Down sheep, chickens for eggs and pet goats! Suddenly having large quantities of produce started to wake up the Cook in me!

The Cook was awake that part of me that wants to cook for the masses and I found myself setting up Flowerpot Kitchen, a Farmers Market Stall, I wanted to use our honest raised meats and make old fashioned pork pies, rabbit pies and game pies from the local game keeper along with old fashioned techniques and the best hot water crust pastry. This in turn grew to a small cottage industry from home weekly supplying three farm shops and a deli along with also attending three farmers markets A few years later there came a time when my son Oscar's health changed and it was an easy decision to stop.

I still hold the occasional pop up 40 seater restaurant or gourmet lunch which we do for local charities for the love of sharing food and to remind that Cook in me why I love our go slower self sufficient life!

So here I am sitting amoung the vegetables watching the chickens loving that every season nature teaches me something new and that nature is in charge! She has taught me to just go with it and grow. Give it a try from a tray of salad on your windowsill to a few tomato plants it all counts.