Robin's slowcook Chicken..

Here is my favourite way to do chicken. Buy a tray (2-3lbs, 1-1.5kg) of thighs or leg joints (thighs are best and this works reasonably with breasts too but they tend to be a little drier rather than succulent). Arrange the chicken, skin side up, in a deep baking dish or stainless roasting pan. Pour on 1/2 to 3/4 pint of cheap white wine (box wine is ideal). My favourite is White Zin which is a rose but any cheap wine will do. Leave to marinade for anything between an hour to overnight (if it's hot then pop it in the fridge overnight). Add about 4 to 5 tablespoons each of soy sauce and fresh or bottled lemon juice and, if you have it, a coarsly chopped sprig of fresh French tarragon. (Dried is also fine though fresh is better). Then crush 1-6 large cloves of garlic over the marinaded chicken. Over the pan/dish grind plenty of fresh black pepper. Pop the pan/dish into a pre-heated gas mark 3 - 300'F oven and cook for about 30mins/lb - 1hr/kg. If you have an electric oven, put a second baking dish/steel bowl with about 1/2 pt - 300cc of water in with the chicken to keep the humidity high. (This is not necessary with a gas oven which does it for you). Remember that if you want the skin to brown, it is most important that the last thing you pour over the surface of the skin is the lemon juice. Lemon juice has the wonderful property of browning any baked food as long as it is not washed off by other ingredients.

The low bake temperature and cooking time match pretty well with baked potatoes which you WILL need to soak up the wonderful sauce that results from the slow reduction of the wine, herbs, soy and chicken juices!

Extras. I often scatter plentiful sesame seeds on the chicken and in the marinade. These become nicely nutty with roasting. You can also add a good pinch of Oregano for a herbier flavour. If you want relatively diet reasonable spuds, my favourite method is to take some ordinary Russets or King Edwards and chop these into 1"/2.5cm cubes leaving the skin on! Then just spray these with olive or rape-seed/canola oil so they are just glazed with oil. Srinkle salt over the chunks and put them in the oven with the chicken. Again these cook slowly and really add to the impression the chicken creates.

Given my preferred garlic content (6 large!), this is not a dish to eat before a date or an important meeting next day unless you are sure that your opposite number(s) are equally enamored of the Stinking Rose and never, ever, before you encounter the dental hygenist!

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