Poaching a whole chicken sounds quite a laborious and time-consuming thing but it’s actually one of the most straightforward and hands-off processes and, for some reason, feels particularly rewarding and holistic. I often poach mine early on weekend mornings and shred it ready to use in salads and sandwiches over the next few days or served with rice or noodles for a quick Asian-inspired meal. The chicken is so succulent and flavoursome that really you need very little with it!

The added bonus to poaching a chicken is, of course, the beautiful broth you are left with that can be reduced down by half to use as a stock for any number of dishes or just served as a broth with some of the shredded chicken, spring greens and noodles.

The Simplest Poached Chicken

• 1 large chicken
• 2 carrots, peeled and cut into 2-cm chunks
• 2 onions, peeled and cut in half
• a few sprigs of thyme

Place all the ingredients in a large saucepan and just about cover with cold water. Cover and bring to the boil (this will take about 15-20minutes) and then reduce to a low simmer for 1 hour uncovered. After an hour remove the chicken and allow it to cool before carving or shredding and using as you wish!

For the stock: bring back to the boil and reduce by half. Cool and then store in the fridge for up to one week or in the freezer for 1 month.

-Lindsay

PS a delicious pumpkin curry!