A Muse or two...

Those of you who follow this blog will know that we spend most of our summers in Italy, down south in the middle of the most glorious teal green mountains, and beside a meandering river known as the Melfa.  

The first time I ever ate a bean, barring baked beans from a tin, was in this valley, and I could not believe how delicious beans could be! Since then I have been a bean addict, not a week goes by when I don't cook the famous Beloveds or some other concotion!  This evening with all the ingredients for my favorite dish, I set about making some... to go with some inspired chicken!

With Christmas over and done, I am starting to look to the summer and those glorious mornings, with the sound of geese as they pass in a gaggle, the afternoons with the low hum of worker bees and the smell of honey in the air, and those warm evenings with the crickets chirrupping in the trees and the smells of what we're cooking wafting across as we sit in the dimming sun...

Melfa Chicken...
You'll need

1 Large chicken

50gms butter

1 tsp maldon salt

3 tbs honey

3 tbs milk

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

1 onion

Parsley to garnish

Method

Preheat your oven to 190c.

To prepare the chicken, pop it into the roasting tin and,using a spoon, seperate the skin on the breast from the flesh.  Slice the butter and place the slices under the skin.  Pop the onion into the cavity.  In a cup mix the milk, honey, and garlic together and brush onto the bird.  Sprinkle with the salt and pop into the oven.  Its usually 1 hour 10 minutes per kilo.  

When cooked, the juices will run clear when you skewer between the thigh and the leg.  Leave to rest for ten minutes before serving.

Serve with Beloveds... (I put fresh coriander in these tonight, not strictly italian but delicious all the same!)