Chicken a la Creme

I think with chicken it's particularly important that you get hold of a good specimen. I actually like the look of chickens which are quite boney without massive plump breasts, as this indicates to me that it's led an active life and will therefore have tastier meat.

Season the chicken and dab with butter all over. Preheat the oven on a medium heat and roast the chicken. It's very hard to prescribe an exact roasting time as there are so many variables, but a medium-sized chicken usually takes about an hour for me.

Take the chicken out of the oven and put aside in a warm place to rest. You should have a lot of juices in the roasting tin. Separate the yolks of two eggs, season them, add a squeeze of lemon juice and set aside. Remove the chicken legs and put them on hot plates. I normally eat the legs first as I think they're the best bit and I'll eat the breast in a salad the next day.

Your juices should have cooled down enough now, so pour the eggs into them and whisk so that the eggs don't scramble. A creamy emulsified sauce will develop. As soon as it looks good (usually about 20seconds of whisking) pour it straight over the legs and eat. If you want any vegetables, something like courgettes are good because they'll soak up the sauce.