Late this afternoon I stood in my pantry, peering at the rack of dried spices and herbs and seeking inspiration for this evening’s meal. You see I had defrosted a large bag of plump chicken pieces, each clinging to the bone and with a decent coating of potentially crispy skin. Now I needed to decided what exactly to do with them. 


A well stocked spice rack helps to solve many a lunch or dinner dilemma. With a few shakes of an individual flavoursome herb or a clever combination of spices, a meal goes from being ordinary to exceptional. How can a home cook feel confident about which bag of spice or herb to use? I’ve found the following three methods particularly useful: 
READ up on which spices complement various meat, poultry, fish and vegetables. Stephanie Alexander’s essential kitchen resource, The Cook’s Companion, is an excellent reference point. Well worth investing in a copy of this mammoth compendium. 

Use your SENSE OF SMELL to identify those herbs and spices that are you find appealing. Open the packets in your pantry and have a good sniff. Imagine what other foods they would compliment. For example, the heady scent of rosemary is a natural choice to team with lamb. The freshness of lemon thyme makes a perfect match for poultry. Aromatic cumin combines beautifully with sweetly roasted pumpkin and cauliflower.  

ASK, ask ask questions. Approach your spice supplier and local grocers for advice about how to team up herbs and spices with key ingredients. When eating an incredible dish in a cafe or restaurant, I often ask the floor or kitchen staff about the flavour base. It’s a reliable, enjoyable way to expand your home cooking repertoire and your appreciation of dishes from a variety of cultures. 

Back to this evening’s meal…an unopened bag of tarragon leaves in the French foods section of the spice rack caught my eye – I have categorised my pantry to a certain extent as it is far easier to find ingredients in a hurry. I decided to combine the tarragon leaves with the juice and rind of an orange and unsalted butter, toss this though the chicken and roast until the flesh is moist but wrapped in a crisp, golden skin. A potato galette and mixed salad of bitter radicchio, soft butter lettuce, baby cos, cucumber and sweet grape tomatoes drizzled with vino cotto balanced out the chicken beautifully. 

Tarragon and Orange Scented Chicken to serve 8 people

Ingredients
8 pieces of chicken Maryland or 4 chicken Maryland and 4 chicken breasts on the bone
50 g unsalted butter
2 teaspoons dried tarragon leaves
1 orange – use the juice and the rind which should be finely removed using a citrus zester. If you don’t have one of these kitchen implements on hand, use a potato peeler and then cut each strip into four thin lengths. 
2 heaped teaspoons sea salt

If you have planned ahead, combine all the ingredients in a large bowl, cover and refrigerate for 2 – 4 hours. If however you have come home from a long and leisurely walk with the family and the dog at 5 o’clock then there is no time to dawdle. 

Preheat your oven to 200 degrees on fan bake mode. Pop a large baking pan on the stove top over a medium heat, put in all the ingredients with the exception of the chicken and stir until melted. 

Place the chicken pieces into the pan and turn over several times until coated with this lovely mixture. Put the whole lot into the oven for about 45 minutes depending on the size of your chicken pieces. My pieces were gloriously generous. 

About halfway through the cooking process, baste your chicken using the lovely juices from the bottom of the pan. When ready, transfer to a warm serving bowl or platter and spoon over any extra pan juices. 

Potato Galette to serve 8 people

A recipe in this month’s The Australian Women’s Weekly magazine for a potato and rosemary galette inspired this side dish. 

75 g unsalted butter
1 teaspoon sea salt
good grind of black pepper
2 cloves of crushed garlic
1.6 kg potatoes – washed, peeled and thinly sliced

A note about slicing the potatoes – I used my trusty Magimix food processor with a slicing blade attachment to slice 1.6 kg of potatoes in 30 seconds. Far safer and faster than labouring with a knife. I recommend investing in a food processor with multiple blades to make the lengthy tasks of slicing, dicing, grating and mincing more efficient. 

Melt the butter in a jug in the microwave. Stir in the salt, pepper and garlic. Drizzle enough of this mixture to coat the base of a round or oval ceramic dish measuring about 26 cm in diametre. 

Place a layer of the sliced potato over the base of the dish, drizzle across the butter mixture and repeat with another layer of potato. Continue the process until all the potato and butter is gone. The version in The Australian Women’s Weekly recommends layering the potato in a circular pattern which looks sensational in their photograph. Unfortunately I was strapped for time and had to make do with scattering the potato in even layers instead. 

Place in the oven and bake with the chicken so that both dishes are ready at the same time.