Episode 7 Nigel Slater's Simple Suppers

For supper tonight, it's sticky sweet and sour chicken

with lemon and honey.

Squeeze the juice from about four lemons,

add a few crushed black peppercorns and a healthy dollop of clear honey.

Runny honey works best for this.

What happens is that it caramelises on the heat of the roasting tin.

It goes all sticky.

You don't have to use mustard, but it gives an extra zing.

And if you like garlic, it's worth popping in a few crushed cloves.

Garlic drives me mad when I try to crush it,

so I put salt on it to give it some grip.

I'm using thighs, because I like cooking chicken with the bone in.

You could use chicken breasts,

but I do think it works better with brown meat.

These are quite big flavours.

Pour the mixture over the chicken.

The longer you leave it to marinate, the better.

You can cook these on a barbecue, but, for a quick supper,

add a sprinkle of salt and put into a hot oven for around 45 minutes.

It's worth turning the pieces halfway, so they go sticky all over.

I could put that on the table, I'd be happy with it.

But there's another sort of lemon that I love using.

It's preserved lemons.

They're little lemons that have been stored in brine.

And they're slightly more mellow than a fresh lemon,

but they still have a delightful sourness.

What you need with these is the outside...skin.

You don't really need the soggy bit in the middle. I just tend to get rid of it.

Any Middle Eastern store will have these.

I want something salty, with the sharpness of those lemons.

I'm going to use some green olives.

Certain foods make your mouth tingle.

It truly makes you feel alive.

Very often, that's when something sour and salty

gets into your mouth at the same time,

and, for me, lemons and olives do just that.

It's food that shakes the senses.

Fresh, green herbs add a vibrant colour to the mix.

Wherever I use lemons, I tend to use parsley.

They are very happy bed-mates.

I adore sticky food,

food that makes you lick your lips and lick your fingers.

And it doesn't come stickier than this.

Pieces of chicken... just the right side of being toasted,

with lemon, lots of honey...

and then a flash of bright olives, lemons and parsley.

You know, I'd be happy enough to eat this on a plate with a knife and fork.

But I'd be much, much happier to eat it with my fingers.

Mmm!

It's sticky and it's hot,

and it's sour and it's sweet.

Just everything all happening together in the mouth.

By changing the amount of honey or lemon,

you could make this dish as sweet or as sour as you like.

To be honest, I vary it every time I cook.

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