Nick Nairn's top 100 Chicken recipes [antikvár]

IntroductionChicken tonight?My reason for writing this book is not just to illustrate the speed and convenience of cooking with chicken but also to celebrate its versatility. Chicken can provide a huge range of meal solutions, from a perfectly roasted bird served, simply, with its own gravy, to a bewildering variety of uses in soups, sautées, stir-fries and casseroles.'Poultry is for the cook what canvas is to the painter' - so said the gastronome Brillat-Savarin. And it's true. Chicken is a great vehicle for all flavours from Mediterranean and Indian to Southeast Asian and Caribbean.Today, chicken is more popular than ever, with the biggest seller being packs of breast fillets. Easy to prepare and quick to cook, they are a popular choice and people often combine them with jar sauces for a quick and tasty meal. But what about the rest of the bird? The high demand for breast fillets means that thighs, drumsticks, wings and livers are in plentiful supply, making them relatively low-priced and affordable. And don't think cheaper means second best - for flavour I'd choose thighs over breasts any time, and you can't beat pan-fried chicken livers for speed and great flavour.Choosing your chickenA few basic factors determine the quality of the chicken you buy. In the UK, a British flag on the packaging generally indicates a superior bird, and if a chicken is a specified breed this is also a good indication of quality. Some supermarkets carry at least one quahty, breed-specific bird, but a good poultry dealer will be able to advise you of the different varieties available in your area.At the top of the quality range are organic free-range chickens. These birds are reared for at least 80-90 days, and are expensive as a result. They are free to roam and are fed on a diet of organic grain and water. These really are the Rolls-Royces of the chook world, and if you're looking for real concentrated chicken flavour and luscious, succulent flesh you won't be disappointed. Expensive, but for me worth every last penny.Next we have free-range. Unfortunately, due to United Kingdom labelling nonsense, not every free-range chicken is as 'free' as the