Neighbours recently lent me Feast Days Recipes from The Spectator by Jennifer Paterson. One of the Fat Ladies along with Clarissa Dickson Wright! It’s a lovely book, a reminiscent of Keith Floyd for all its quirkiness. I loved the Fat Ladies. two very bright ladies zooming around on a motor bike and sidecar, full of fun, courage and honesty.

1 roasting chicken
6 plump white chicory
1 lemon
1 tbsp chopped tarragon
100g butter
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Oven at 160°C

Cut the chicory (SP refers to them as ‘witloof’ as in Dutch) in half longways and place cut side down in a well buttered roasting pan. Dot with a little butter and season. Squeeze over half the juice from the lemon. Roast in the oven for 30 minutes.

Squeeze the remaining lemon juice over the chicken. Work the tarragon with the remaining butter and season. ‘Anoint the bird with this mixture and put a bit inside as well’. Season further.

Remove the roasting pan from the oven. Fit a rack over the chicory and sit the chicken on top. Increase the heat of the oven to 200°C. Roast for half an hour before lowering the heat to 160°C and cooking for a further half hour or more until the chicken is cooked. Baste from time to time.

As JP recommends, serve with plain boiled rice and a tart tomato salad.

A great lunch dish.