Anne's Chicken in Honey

A Main CourseNot a great photo, but it is what we enjoyed for dinner last night.

This recipe was one of my mum's; probably just about the best thing she cooked. It was a family staple when I was a child, usually replacing the more traditional Sunday roast. It is simplicity itself and takes almost no time to prep and cook.

You can use pretty much any piece of chicken, the recipe works well with breast fillets (if you're feeling wealthy), with thighs or chicken quarters. It's remarkably easy to joint a whole chicken into quarters, I learnt from Saint Delia; her method is here.

You'll need to adjust cooking times according to what part of the bird you're using. The timings below are for quarters; breasts will cook more quickly, thighs usually benefit from long slow cooking.

Here's the podcast of this recipe as it appeared on Simon Pauley's Morning Mix programme on Insight Radio. Insight Radio is also available on SKY channel 0188 and on Freesat channel 777.



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Ingredients (for four)

4 chicken quarters

50g butter

150g runny honey

75-100g Madras curry paste (it's fine to use any strength of paste - I just like the Madras version)

1 crumbled chicken stock cube

What to do

Heat the oven to Gas 6 (200C/400F)

Melt the butter (I do this in a plastic jug in the microwave)

Mix in the honey and heat for a short while longer.

Mix in the curry paste and the crumbled stock cube.

Make sure the mixture is runny enough to pour easily.

Arrange the chicken pieces in an oven proof dish (I use a cast iron skillet).

Brush some honey sauce over the chicken, to make sure it gets into every nook and cranny.

Pour the rest of the sauce over the chicken (note, I made three portions because that's how many of us were eating; this recipe is for four)

Put the lot into the oven (middle or upper shelf) for 50 to 60 minutes,

check it occasionally and baste the chicken with the sauce a couple of times to keep it nice and moist.

Before serving make sure the chicken is cooked right through: pierce the flesh with a skewer - the juices that come out should flow clear; if they're pink or have any blood, you need to cook for longer.

Serve on a bed of rice with peas (and baby carrots if you like them), pour the sauce from the pan over the chicken and rice.

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To drink? This needs a strong white wine; try an oak aged Chardonnay or a nice chilled Frascati. If wine isn't your thing, a cold malty lager works well.