Day 15: Roast chicken, chips & coleslaw

inspired by Cocotte

Sometimes you just want something simple. Which is exactly what Aidan said to me the other day.

When I say I want something simple I usually mean I just want a bowl of pasta. In fact pretty much anything I say could be interpreted as I just want a bowl of pasta.

But for Aidan simple means something different. As someone who works in pubs, and therefore eats a lot of pub food, I think he means just a nice piece of meat. Maybe with some chips.

So chicken legs come out the freezer to defrost. Chicken and chips – what could be simpler?

And I can’t think about chicken and chips without thinking about Cocotte. Their rotisserie chicken is delicious! I look to their side dishes for some inspiration. Their coleslaw recipe includes

“Cabbage, carrots, red onion, dill, parsley in a lemony mayo”

I don’t have red onion so whip up a standard coleslaw with some white onion. Lemon and parsley are great additions. But dill….

Who knew?? Dill in coleslaw is amazing! Seriously good. So good that the extra coleslaw I make for lunch the next day gets eaten before we even get to dinner!

I pop the chicken into the oven to roast. Now for the chips.

Firstly the deep fat fryer comes out of the cupboard. You know the cupboard that you can’t really reach without a chair. The one you hardly ever go in. There’s probably an ice cream machine in there somewhere.

Yes. That cupboard.

I set about cleaning the fryer. I can’t remember last time we used it. This is not simple.

Once the fryer is sparkling I cut the potatoes (simple enough) and dig out the River Cottage Meat Book for the chips recipe. I swear I use the pages at the back of that book dedicated to sides dishes more than the actual meat recipes!

So now I’m filling the fryer with oil and turning it on. This involves spending ages trying to work out how to close the lid. Not so simple

I wimp out around the time the fryer starts making popping noises. Aidan assures me these are noises are just the sound of the oil heating up but I’m not convinced.

It turns out making chips is a two person job anyway. One person actually fries the chips. The other person frantically runs around the house opening every door and window possible in order to stop the whole place smelling like a chip shop.

All whilst trying to keep out the neighbours cat. Also not simple. That cat is persistent.

Finally we sit down to eat. The chips are delicious. Almost as good as the coleslaw. But I’m not sure I’d call them simple.

I clean the fryer (again) and try to put it back in the cupboard. In the couple of hours that it has been out everything else in the cupboard seems to have expanded. It now won’t fit without rearranging the whole cupboard (hello ice cream maker).

Not simple.

But dill in coleslaw? Simple and delicious!