Open Kitchen with Paul Askew

Food and wine go together. And in the spirit of togetherness, we’re supporting our friends and partners in hospitality while their restaurant doors are temporarily closed.

Our OPEN KITCHEN series features recipes, wine pairings and video tutorials from the home kitchens of some of the country’s most exciting chefs.

Until the reservation books are open again, we hope you’ll enjoy these small bites of culinary creativity, here and on Instagram. Do try this at home.

Paul Askew is Chef Patron of The Art School in Liverpool, now in its 5th year. During the 12 years prior, Paul was the Food & Beverage Director at The London Carriage Works in Liverpool, where he and the team helped to build the city’s reputation for gastronomic excellence by opening its first boutique hotel with a fine-dining restaurant. Throughout his career, Paul has become a stalwart of Liverpool’s burgeoning dining scene, helping the city to grow to become the gastronomic hub that it is today, and cementing him as one of the country’s most popular chefs.

Confit Leg & Breast of Chicken & Asparagus

Preparation Time: 20 minutes

Cooking Time: 2 hours

Serves: 4

• 3 asparagus spears per portion, peeled and trimmed then cooked in boiling salted water at the last minute
• Morelles, 3 per portion, brushed and trimmed ready to sauté in a splash of vegetable oil and butter
• 3 or 4 shavings of summer truffles per plate, shaved on top of the chicken during the plating
• Chopped tarragon and truffle trimmings for the natural jus. (We use the double strength chicken stock)

Confit leg and breast

At the restaurant we buy whole chickens as it fits with the philosophy of our cuisine to use everything that we possibly can from such a precious ingredient as organic chicken.

The drumstick and thighs are used for confit before being pulled and shredded for the parcel garnish. The skin is used for making the chicken crackling, and the breast is pan-roasted as the prime cut

• Breast and leg of organic chicken (1/2 breast and a leg parcel per person)
• Chicken seasoning
• Chicken stock

Method:

1. Dust the chicken using the seasoning, both on the skin and within the butterfly.
2. If you are cooking this at home, it is more beneficial to cook the whole crown of chicken in the oven with the meat still attached. This is because the cage of the bird will retain lots of natural juices into the meat.
3. Place the cut into a lightly-oiled pan meat-side down to seal, before turning the breast over to reveal the skin and place into the oven for 4-5 minutes on 165 degrees until it is just cooked. This will keep the breast juicy and moist. Rest for 5 minutes until ready to carve.

Potatoes

• Cyprus (Spunta) Potato
• 2 large Spunta potatoes, washed and peeled, cut into dice
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Maldon sea salt

Method:

1. Cook the potatoes until soft in salted boiling water
2. Drain them, before drying off any excess water by returning them to the pan and placing them back on the heat for a minute or two. Pass through drum sieve to ensure a smooth puree
3. Add a drizzle of olive oil and season well for taste

Confit Leg Parcel

• Fuille de Bric pastry- 2 sheets cut in half to make four parcels
• Chopped parsley
• 1 tbsp natural Jus
• Shredded leg meat
• 1 egg yolk
• 10g unsalted butter
• A splash of vegetable oil
• Poppy seeds

Stock for Confit Leg Parcel

• 500ml chicken stock, please see the glossary
• Mirepoix of vegetables, 1 carrot, 1 leek, 1 onion, 1 celery stick
• 2 cloves of peeled garlic
• 175ml good quality white wine
• Bouquet garni
• 5 black peppercorns
• 1 Tsp fennel seeds
• Maldon sea salt
• Ground white pepper

Method:

1. Seal the leg and thigh in a hot pan ensuring the browning and colouration of the meat
2. Place into a deep roasting tin, along with the chicken stock, the mirepoix of vegetables, the wine, garlic, bouquet garni, peppercorns, fennel seeds and seasoning
3. Slow cook this for two hours on 150 degrees until the meat is so tender it looks like that it is just about to fall apart
4. Pass off the liquor, which will now be of double strength, through a muslin cloth into a pan and reduce it down with a knob of butter to give it a nice sheen. Finish this jus using the trimmings of truffle and chopped tarragon leaves

Assembly:

Plate all elements before adding the jus.

Chef’s Recommended Wine: Gusbourne Chardonnay Guinevere 2017

Brimming bright gold in the glass and offering a nose of citrus, elegant stone fruit and creamy butter, the Guinevere 2017 shows all the classic traits one would expect of a barrel fermented cool climate Chardonnay, along with a more plentiful generosity of rich, ripe fruit. A linear smoky minerality is evident throughout the palate and balances well with warm oak notes of candied citrus fruits and oatmeal on a multi-layered finish.

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