Poached Chicken 3 in 1

This is really two – maybe three – meals in one. First, you’ll be poaching a
whole organic chicken which will make a fantastic, fragrant broth to slurp on
immediately, or store in the fridge for 1 week. Then, you’ll be shredding the
poached chicken and coating it in a lightly spiced dressing dotted with red
grapes and walnuts. Put it on top of a big bed of mixed salad leaves for an
impressive help-yourself lunch or dinner. Got leftovers? Fill a sandwich with
the salad the next day. One recipe, many meals.

1 leek, roughly chopped
3 bay leaves
2 celery stalks and leaves, roughly chopped
1 carrot, roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, halved
Pinch of saffron
2 litres cold water
1 organic chicken
½ cup natural yoghurt
½ cup whole egg mayonaise
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1 ½ cups mixed salad leaves
1/4 cup seedless red grapes, halved
¼ cup walnuts, roughly chopped

Add the leek, carrot, celery, garlic, bay leaves and saffron to a large stock pot.
Rinse your chicken and pat dry. Place on top of the vegetables in the stock
pot and submerge in cold water.

Bring the poaching liquid to the boil then cover with a lid and reduce to a
simmer for 1 hour. Check the chicken is cooked through, then remove from
the chicken broth and allow to cool. You can simmer the broth for an
additional 30 minutes to intensify the flavours or use as is for a soup. Store
the broth for up to 1 week in the fridge (use for a risotto later in the week!)

Back to the chicken. In a medium bowl, shred the chicken and remove all
bones and skin.

In a small bowl, stir together the natural yoghurt, mayonnaise, coriander,
cumin and salt. Pour over the shredded chicken and stir to coat. Add the
crushed walnuts and red grapes.

Serve the chicken on a big plate of mixed salad leaves. Use any leftovers for
a sandwich the next day.

Recipe by Hayley McKee for Hagen’s Organics
Photography by Kelli Morris