Wednesday 27 April 2016

Diana Henry's chicken with sour cherries and parsnip puree


I wasn't intending to post anything for this week's I Heart Cooking Clubs potluck. Time got away from me and I didn't get around to cooking anything specially. But I woke up to the news on twitter that Diana Henry had won the James Beard Foundation award for Best Single Subject Cookbook for A Bird in the Hand. Which is such a fantastic achievement I thought I should have a rummage through my photos for one of Diana's dishes that I haven't already posted about!

And lo! I found this fabulous, elegant dish of chicken legs with pinot noir, sour cherries and parsnip purée that we enjoyed a few weeks ago. Normally chicken leg recipes are aimed at weeknight, workaday meals, but this lifted them into a special occasion meal.

Not that we had them for a special occasion, just as our Sunday roast. Which I suppose is a little celebration.

At Easter we'd bought another cockerel which I'd jointed and frozen, so I used the cockerel legs for this. They are huge, so I had to adjust the cooking time, but other than that I followed the recipe. The parsnip purée was creamy and luscious, with a sweetness that worked extremely well with the tartness of the sour cherry sauce. Divine, and definitely to be recommended. You can see why this book won a James Beard award.

11 comments:

Claudia said...

This would be an unusual combination of ingredients for me. Can't remember cooking something savory with cherries. Though, come to think of it, I use all sorts of fruit with pork braises, so why not?

grace said...

cherries are definitely an interesting touch here, and i think i'd like the combo!

Vicki said...

Chicken is my favorite meat, and I've tried it a whole lot of ways, but never with cherries. I'm going to pin this recipe.

Deb in Hawaii said...

Yay Diana! A well-deserved win for sure. :-) I like the combination of the sour cherries with the parsnip puree--it certainly livens up a chicken dinner.

kitchen flavours said...

I've just bought this book and could not wait to try some of the recipes! This chicken dish looks delicious!

flour.ish.en said...

An award-winning dish combining all the creamy, sweet, savory and tart flavor elements, from an award-winning cookbook. I love this dish!

ostwestwind said...

I like fruit in combination with hearty dishes. This looks and sounds wonderful

Zosia said...

A well-deserved award! I love that book and have cooked quite a bit from it but haven't tried this recipe yet - it sounds delicious.

Kim said...

Hooray for Diana! That is quite an achievement. I have only recently tried parsnips pureed and I love them. I can see how they would make a lovely pairing with the sour cherries. A unique and lovely way to liven up a Sunday chicken.

Couscous & Consciousness said...

Wow, what a great award for DH - I haven't seen that book, but if this dish is anything to go by, I'm sure it's very well deserved. Chicken, sour cherries, pinot noir - that's just some of my favourite ingredients right there!!

Joyce Rachel Lee said...

Chicken legs with pinot noir, sour cherries and parsnip purée - elegant combination of ingredients by Diana Henry!

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