Weekend Surprise for My Husband

Asked by Sim.m. Answered on 17th March 2012

Full question

Hi Nigella, I am an ardent fan of you and your cooking skills. However as I live in India I am still very unfamiliar with the international ingredients you use in your recipes. I would like to cook a surprise weekend meal for my husband - a dish that comprises of chicken with mashed potatoes and boiled veggies. Which recipe from your collection would you recommend?

Our answer

A roast chicken is probably one of the most loved dishes and a good roasted chicken will be delicious with mashed potatoes and vegetables. Nigella's book Kitchen gives instructions on p220-221 on how to simply roast a bird solo, or in a dish with leeks and squash.

We would also suggest that you try Nigella's Mother's Praised Chicken recipe which is also in Kitchen on p224 (and see the link below). The chicken is cooked gently in a mixture of wine and water (or use all water and a squeeze of lemon juice if you need to avoid alcohol) with leeks, celery and carrots. Nigella likes to serve the chicken and vegetables with rice but you could also serve it with mashed potatoes, just be careful not to ladle over too much of the cooking liquid as this will mix in with the mashed potatoes and turn them watery.

The other advantage of this recipe is that you will also have leftover chicken to make a chicken salad or soup in the early part of the following week - for some suggestions see Ktchen p226-232 which gives recipes for Chicken, Bacon and Avocado Salad, Chinatown Chicken Salad, Quick Chick Caesar and Thai Chicken Noodle Soup.

http://www.nigella.com/recipes/view/my-mothers-praised-chicken-5155