A BBC Good Food magazine inspired weekend

I was reading the BBC Good Food magazine on the train going home on Thursday and there was a recipe for a lemon roasted chicken for Sunday lunch.  It wasn't Sunday.  And I didn't have a whole chicken kicking about.  But I did have some chicken pieces.  And I had some lemons.  So I read the recipe and pondered.

When I got home, I sliced a couple of lemons and put them in the bottom of a small roasting tray.  The recipe had called for tarragon, which I didn't have.  But I did have some fennel, so I finely diced that and added it, together with a small glass of white wine to the tray.  Then for good measure I very finely sliced a small onion and added that.  I put the chicken pieces in and drizzled a little soya sauce over the top, then covered everything with some foil and baked it in a moderate oven for around 45 minutes.  Then I drained the juices into a jug through a fine sieve and put the chicken pieces back into the oven for a bit to crisp up.  I thickened the lemon sauce with a very little rice flour, over a low heat.

The magazine had also had various recipes for bean type salads which I thought sound rather nice with lemon chicken. So I took some frozen soya beans and sweet corn, tinned butter and fresh broad beans and heated them through.  I added some fresh peas and some chopped watercress and stirred them all through with a little balsamic vinegar.  And we had the chicken pieces and bean salad with some boiled Jersey royals and the lemon sauce.  It was absolutely lovely.

The magazine also had loads of suggestions for burgers and other barbecue foods.  So on Friday I made what was effectively deconstructed Aussie burgers, not using the barbecue but my griddle.  I made the burgers myself and added ham, Jarlsberg cheese, cherry tomatoes, beetroot, yellow capsicum and lettuce and we had it layered on a plate, not with a bun but with fried Jersey royal chips and some more of the bean salad. Also delicious

A deconstructed Aussie burger on a plate