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CHICKEN, BLACKBERRY & HAZELNUT SALAD

seasonal Recipes from our resident Foodie Laura Coate

Blackberries seem to be ripening earlier each year. My favourite blackberry combination is that of a Bramley apple and a crunchy crumble topping, and thankfully, blackberries are usually still fairly abundant around September time, when the Bramleys start dropping.

That said, I do tend to over-crumble somewhat when it comes to September’s seasonal riches, so this year I’ll be using blackberries for more than just dessert.

This salad is a delightful, early autumnal pairing of sweet, sharp blackberries; salty, crispy chicken skin; earthy lentils and peppery watercress. Personally, I’d roast a whole, small chicken, as the ratio of crispy chicken skin will be greater, but you could happily use skin-on thighs instead.

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To serve 4:

45g hazelnuts 1 small, happy chicken, or 3 plump, skin-on thighs 120g blackberries 2 small shallots, finely chopped 4 tbsp olive oil 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar 1/2 tsp honey 200g cooked puy lentils 1 tsp Dijon mustard Lemon juice 2 small heads of Little Gem lettuce, washed & dried 80-100g watercress, washed and dried Salt, pepper, plus coarse, flakey salt for sprinkling

Preheat the oven to 170˚C and toast the hazelnuts for about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool a tad. In the meantime, increase the oven temperature to 190˚C.

Use 1 tbsp of oil and some salt and pepper to season the chicken, then roast for about 1.5 hours (depending on the weight of your chicken), or until the juices run clear. To ensure your skin is as crispy as you’d like, remove it from the chicken, cover the bird in foil to rest and replace the skin on a tray in the oven for a further few minutes until golden brown.

While the chicken is roasting, rub the hazelnuts in a tea towel to remove their skins, then roughly chop them.

Add another 2 tbsp oil to a small frying pan and add the shallots. Cook for a scant minute then tip in the blackberries. Heat for another minute or two until the pan turns purple and the blackberries have softened a touch, but not collapsed. Remove from the heat, then add the balsamic vinegar and honey and stir.

Warm the last tbsp of oil over a very low heat in a pan and stir in the lentils. When these have warmed through, stir in the Dijon, a small squeeze of lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.

To assemble the salad, shred four palms’ worth of chicken and roughly chop as much crispy skin as you’d like. Divide the salad leaves among four plates and spoon the lentils over and around them. Top with chicken pieces and skin, before dotting with the blackberries and drizzling the blackberry dressing over. Season with flakes of salt and scatter with the toasted hazelnuts.

Food With Folk creates beautiful, seasonal food for you to eat at home or at work. Our menu changes monthly and is made conscientiously, by hand, with the happiest ingredients available.

Our Easy Weekend deliveries are made on a Friday evening and equip you with a parcel of goodies to see you through a few meals and snacks over the weekend.

Our Office rounds are made on Thursdays and Fridays (perfect for the latter half of the week, when packed lunch inspiration begins to wane) and include handmade, filled flatbreads, seasonal salads, soups, as well as something sweet.