Chicken with chamomile

Summer

There is a place between asleep and awake where our bodies are unneeded and we remember dreaming. It’s a stilling state that’s difficult to attain, but perhaps this beautiful chicken broth, gently flavoured with fresh chamomile flowers might help us get there. What could be more sedative or lulling? If you can’t find fresh chamomile flowers, you can use dried to flavour the broth. They work in the same way, but you won’t need quite as many.

Serves 2

Ingredients

500ml (17fl oz) chicken stock (see below)
1 chicken breast
10–14 chamomile flowers
squeeze of lemon juice
salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the chicken stock (makes 1–1.5 litres/35–52fl oz)

2 freshly roasted chicken carcasses, and any other bits left in the roasting tray
1–2 onions, sliced
2 large carrots, roughly chopped
3–4 celery sticks, roughly chopped
½ leek, roughly sliced
2 or 3 garlic cloves, peeled and bashed
6 thyme sprigs
a few parsley stalks
3–4 bay leaves
1 teaspoon black peppercorns

Method

First, make the chicken stock. Tear the carcasses into several pieces and pack them, along with any skin, fat, jelly, bones or other tasty morsels from the roasting tray into a large pan. Add all the vegetables, as well as the herbs and peppercorns, packing them in nice and neatly. Pour over 1.5 litres (52fl oz) of water to cover. Place the pan over a medium heat and bring up to a very gentle simmer. Reduce the heat to low and continue to simmer gently, uncovered, for 2–3 hours, topping up the water during cooking, if necessary. Pass the cooked stock through a very fine sieve lined with a piece of muslin or a clean cotton cloth, into a clean bowl or container. Allow to cool, then cover and refrigerate until you’re ready to use it.

To make the dish, remove any fat from the surface of the chilled stock. Pour 500ml (17fl oz) of the stock into a medium pan and set it over a medium–high heat. Bring the stock to a gentle simmer. Place the chicken breast into the pan with the stock, cover with a lid and cook gently for 10–12 minutes, or until the chicken is just cooked through. Use a slotted spoon to remove the chicken from the pan and leave it to rest somewhere warm. Taste the stock in the pan as it simmers away, and season with plenty of salt and pepper – it should be full of flavour.

Divide the chamomile flowers between two warmed bowls. Cut the warm chicken into thin slices and place it next to the flowers. Ladle over the simmering stock and finish with a tiny squeeze of lemon juice over each serving before bringing to the table.

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