Chicken

This is my version of the classic dish from Normandy in northwestern France, which is always well received when I serve it at dinner parties. It’s usually made with chicken, apples and Calvados but I prefer to keep my costly Calvados for a special-occasion tipple and use brandy instead. There are many versions of this dish – some add button mushrooms or cider or cream – and, for my part, I like to add crème fraîche, which makes a slightly tart but creamy sauce that I’ll almost guarantee will have your guests wiping their plates clean.

Using rotisserie chicken in this recipe means you will have the meal on the table in no time. A leafy green salad is the perfect accompaniment.

For really tasty, all natural chicken, keep an eye out for free-range poultry at your local supermarket.

This is a relatively fast way to prepare an easy roast chicken dinner that’s full of flavour. Against the norm, I always cook my birds breast-side down as this way you get moist breast meat which has absorbed all the delicious flavours from the bottom of the tray. My mum taught me the ‘soy-sauce rub’ trick, which adds a lovely caramel dimension that is particularly good at this cooler time of year.

A number of years ago, my Frenchman wooed me with a glamorous chicken dish containing white wine, mustard and cream. Back then he cooked whole chicken legs and we ate them with a simple green salad, mopping up the creamy juices with a baguette. Now, to suit our kids’ sometimes picky palates and our busy lifestyle, I’ve transformed his dish into a chicken pie using thigh and breast meat. It freezes well and is handy to have when you need a fine and fancy dinner in a jiffy. Photograph by Jani Shepherd and styling by Fiona Hugues – Gatherum Collectif.

这强烈的调味,法式鸡肉casserole is so easy to prepare – and it’s all done in one pot. The secret is using the best Spanish sausages you can get. Pop all the ingredients in, pour yourself a drink and relax while your oven does the rest of the work. Photograph by Stephen Goodenough.

This is a great way to use up any crispy sesame chicken and crunchy slaw. Feel free to add your own touch – iceberg lettuce, for instance, is a nice, crunchy alternative to the slaw. Photograph by Stephen Goodenough.