River Cottage

Preheat an oven to 190C

Peel and cut the potatoes in to even chunks. Loosen the chicken skin from the flesh at the back of the chicken, where the wish bone was.

Place the lemon, thyme, garlic and potatoes in to the cavity of the chicken. Rub soft butter under the skin of the chicken and season with black pepper. Tie the legs of the chicken with string to stop anything falling out. Mix the salt and egg whites together until a thick white paste is formed.

Place the chicken on to a tray lined with baking paper then completely and evenly coat the chicken with the salt mix. Place in to the oven at 190c for 1 hour.

Meanwhile, trim the tops off the baby leeks (reserving for later) and slice the baby leeks in half length-ways.

Bring a pan of water the boil with a pinch of salt and pinch and sugar in.

Boil the leeks until tender. Finely shred the leek tops and place in a bowl of cold water with ice to curl up. Remove the cooked chicken from the oven and leave to rest for around 15 minutes on a cooling rack (keep the remaining juices).

Once the chicken has rested, crack away the salt. Place the potatoes from the chicken into a pan and crush with the back of a fork. Add a knob of butter and season with salt. Stir in the cooked leeks.

Reduce the chicken juices in a pan over a high heat. Once thickened slightly taste and adjust the seasoning as necessary.

Joint the chicken, slicing the breast.

To serve, put a good helping of potatoes on to a plate, add chicken, and spoon over the chicken juices. Garnish with the shredded leek tops and serve.

This recipe is one of hundreds of new recipes which can be found in the book which inspired the series, Hugh's Three Good Things.

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