Fast Recipes

Roast chicken with celery, anchovy and white bean salad

This dish is the perfect addition to a picnic. The crispy-skinned roast chicken meets its match in this zesty celery, anchovy and white bean salad.

By Alice Storey
  • Serves 4
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Roast chicken with celery, anchovy and white bean salad
By starting the chicken in the pan and finishing it in the oven you get golden, crisp skin and juicy flesh.

Ingredients

  • 100 ml white wine vinegar
  • 8 anchovy fillets, coarsely chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
  • 1 golden shallot, coarsely chopped
  • 100 ml olive oil
  • 1 tsp Dijon mustard
  • Pinch of chilli flakes
  • 2 tbsp currants
  • 4 chicken breasts (about 180gm each), wing bones attached, skin on
  • 40 gm butter, coarsely chopped
  • 1½ tbsp thyme leaves
  • Juice of ½ lemon
  • 400 gm canned white beans, rinsed and drained
  • 4 small inner celery stalks, thinly sliced, plus inner leaves
  • 1 cup (loosely packed) flat-leaf parsley, coarsely chopped

Method

Main
  • 1
    Soak currants in 2 tbsp boiling water until plump (15 minutes). Drain and set aside.
  • 2
    Meanwhile, blend vinegar, anchovies, garlic, shallot, 80ml oil, mustard and chilli in a food processor until smooth and season to taste.
  • 3
    Preheat oven to 180C. Heat remaining oil in an ovenproof frying pan over medium-high heat, season chicken, then fry skin-side down, turning once, until golden brown (1-2 minutes each side). Add butter and thyme to pan, transfer to oven and roast until chicken is cooked through (7-8 minutes). Squeeze lemon over chicken, cover with foil and set aside for 5 minutes to rest.
  • 4
    Combine remaining ingredients and currants in a bowl, drizzle with dressing, reserving 2 tbsp, season to taste and toss to combine. Drizzle chicken with pan juices and serve with salad and reserved dressing.