Simon Hopkinson’s chicken, garlic and parsley broth

A visit to my local farmer’s market in west London is my favourite start to the weekend. For what seems like an endless season, the vegetable stall offers huge heads of fresh garlic: pale green with long stems and a strong aroma. The French girl, who forever charms, also sells parsley, both curly (rare these days) and flat-leaf, as well as other noteworthy vegetables and fruit. Four heads of garlic and a huge parsley bunch cost me £4. I then take two steps to the adjacent chicken and egg purveyor, pick up three or four chicken carcasses and some giblets, and spend even less. A broth of these simple ingredients is already simmering in my happy head.

Enough for several servings
chicken carcasses 3-4 (or 8 wings), roughly chopped (if you have some giblets, add these, too)
garlic 2 heads of fresh or purple-skinned Provence, cut in half horizontally
parsley 1 large bunch, leaves picked, stalks roughly chopped
salt 2 tsp
bay leaves 2
lemon zest 3-4 strips
chilli flakes ½ tsp
white wine 2 glasses
water 2 litres, or enough to cover the ingredients by about 5cm
olive oil 3 tbsp

Put the carcasses (or wings) in a large pot that has a lid and add the garlic, parsley stalks, salt, bay leaves, lemon zest, chilli flakes, white wine and water. Bring up to a simmer and skim off any scum from the surface. Allow to blip and murmur over a very low heat, covered, for about an hour and a half; you can also do this in a low oven. After about 40 minutes of cooking, carefully lift out the garlic on to a plate using a slotted spoon, and cool. Continue to simmer the broth for the remaining time.

Remove the lid and strain the broth using a colander into a large bowl, discarding the solids. Allow the broth to settle for about 10 minutes, then remove any surface fat using 3-4 sheets of kitchen paper. Now strain the broth again through a fine sieve back into the (wiped clean) original pan.

Take the cooled heads of garlic and ease out the soft cloves from their sodden skins. Tip these into a small food processor, add the olive oil, parsley leaves and a spoonful or two of the broth. Process until smooth. Return to the broth, stir and reheat without boiling, then decant into a warmed soup bowl.

Serve with some large baked sourdough croutons, which will soften and swell in the broth while retaining a pleasing texture until the final spoonful. This recipe makes more than one serving; there isn’t much point in making a smaller quantity. But I can live on this for days – it keeps well in the fridge for at least five days.

Roast chicken yorkshires recipe

A batter pudding laden with chicken, sprouts and gravy. I probably don’t need to remind you how hot the fat needs to be before you pour the batter in, literally smoking, but I will. The fearsome heat is necessary to encourage a decent rise to your puddings.

Makes 6 (enough for 3 people)
For the batter
plain flour 110g
eggs 2
milk 150ml
sparkling water 150ml
dripping or lard 30g

For the filling
groundnut oil or dripping 4 tbsp
banana shallots 10 small
chicken thighs 6
plain flour 2 heaped tbsp
chicken stock 1 litre
thyme 10 sprigs, leaves removed
brussels sprouts 100g
olive oil or butter a little

You will need a six-hole yorkshire pudding tin or similar.

To make the batter, put the plain flour in a mixing bowl or large jug. Beat the eggs and stir into the flour with the milk and sparkling water and a half teaspoon of salt, then set aside. Set the oven at 200C/gas mark 6.

For the filling, warm the oil or dripping in a roasting tin. Peel the shallots and cut them in half lengthways. Place them cut side down in the warm oil, then place the chicken thighs in the tin and season with salt and black pepper. Roast for about 45 minutes till golden and the skin is lightly crisp.

Remove the chicken and shallots from the oven. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, remove and reserve the skin. Turn the oven up to 230C/gas mark 8. Tear the chicken meat into pieces and keep to one side.

Put the roasting tin on the hob over a moderate heat and stir in the flour, letting it cook for a minute or two. Pour in the stock and bring to the boil, stirring regularly and scraping at the bottom of the pan to dissolve any tasty bits into the gravy. Lower the heat and simmer to a thickish consistency (too thin and it will pour out of your puddings). Generously season to taste and remove from the heat. Add the chicken meat to the gravy together with the thyme leaves and keep warm.

Cut each sprout in half. Warm a little oil in a shallow pan then add the sprouts and the pieces of chicken skin. Let the sprouts colour lightly and the skin crisp. Remove from the heat and stir the sprouts into the gravy. Place the crisp skin on kitchen paper.

Divide the dripping between six large yorkshire pudding tins, place in the oven for 5-10 minutes till smoking. Ladle or pour the batter into the hot fat, letting it come almost to the rim of the tins. Return to the oven immediately and bake for 8-10 minutes till puffed up. Remove from the oven and fill with some of the chicken and sprout gravy. Shatter the crisped chicken skin over the top of each pudding and serve.

Alice Staple’s recipe for risotto ai funghi porcini

Having travelled and cooked my way around Italy over the past 20 years, I’ve come to realise that autumn and winter are my favourite times of year. The local markets are full of incredible produce and in Italy you can only really get seasonal ingredients whereas in the UK everything is available at all times of year. I would encourage anyone to eat as seasonally as possible as the seasonality elevates the quality, taste and freshness. Fresh porcini are no exception. They are not as easy to source in the UK but the dried variety are a great substitute and the water used to rehydrate them makes a delicious stock. I love this recipe because it is a real crowd pleaser and easily adaptable for vegans. Cooked correctly, risotto is one of the most delicious, satisfying and economical dishes for a quick midweek dinner, or even a dinner party for friends.

Prep time: 20 mins
Cook time: 30 mins
Serves: 2

25g dried porcini mushrooms
150g chestnut or field mushrooms, roughly chopped
150g oyster mushrooms, roughly chopped
4 tbsp olive oil
1 medium sized onion, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
200g arborio rice
250ml white wine
1 litre of chicken or vegetable stock
Small bunch of parsley, leaves only and finely chopped
100g butter
100g grated parmesan cheese
Truffle oil (optional)

Soak the mushrooms in boiling water for 15-20 minutes. You need just enough water to cover the mushrooms.

Roughly chop the chestnut and oyster mushrooms so they are 1-2cm cubed, or however chunky you prefer them. Fry in 1 tbsp olive oil and a knob of butter until golden brown. Set to one side until you’re ready to add them to the risotto.

Fry the finely chopped onion in 3 tbsp of olive oil for about 5 minutes on a medium heat until soft but not browned. Add the garlic and fry for another minute.

Add the rice and mix until nicely coated with the oil, onions and garlic. Add the wine, turn the heat up and stir continuously. Cook until fully absorbed and turn the heat back down to medium. Add the porcini water and stir again until fully absorbed.

Add enough stock to just cover the rice, stir and repeat the process for about 10 minutes.

Add the mushrooms and cook with the rice for5 minutes - it should have absorbed the majority of the liquid but not be completely dry. You have the option to add a bit more stock – the most important thing is that the rice still has a bit of a bite but isn’t too crunchy.

Add a knob of butter, 75g of Parmesan, and the parsley. Stir together and check the consistency. It should be wet but not sitting in liquid. Allow it to sit for a minute or two before serving.

Serve in shallow bowls or plates.For those who like it extra cheesy, sprinkle the remainder of the Parmesan on top. For something extra special drizzle over some truffle oil.

Vegans can easily substitute the butter for oil (although there is no need to add extra oil at the end of the recipe) and you can leave the cheese out too.

Alice Staple is an executive chef, who is currently setting up her debut restaurant, Maremma, in Brixton, south London, alongside Dickie, a Brixton resident who runs the London Cooking Project.