Chicken Chaud-froid This French dish has been a popular classic in Britain for decades.

It consists of a whole cooked chicken coated with an aspic sauce (chaud-froid sauce) and the n elaborately garnished. Individual chicken joints are, however, easier to coat. Ingredients Serves: 6 6 Boneless chicken breasts 1 Large Onion 1 Sprig Thyme 1 Bay lead Salt and black pepper 1 Small Carrot 6 Stalk Parsley 6 Peppercorns 1/2 Teaspoon Salt 300 ml Milk (1/2 pint) 25 Gram Butter (1 oz) 25 Gram Plain flour (1 oz) 2 Teaspoon Powdered gelatine 300 ml Aspic jelly, hot (1/2 pint) Cucumber peel, 2.5 cm to garnish 1 Large Tomato pared peel to garnish 1 Small Lemon pared rind to garnish Dill sprigs to garnish Method Place the chicken breasts in a large saucepan. Peel the onion and cut into 2.5 c m (1 inch) slices. Reserve one slice then add the rest to the pan together with the thyme, bay leaf and enough cold water to just cover the chicken. Add salt an d pepper to taste. Bring slowly to the boil, remove the scum, lower the heat and cover the pan with a lid. Simmer gently for 40-45 minutes or until the chicken breasts are cooked through. Lift out the chicken portions and drain. Save the co oking liquid as the basis of a soup or sauce, if liked. Scrape the carrot, leaving it whole and put it in a saucepan with the reserved o nion slice, parsley stalks, peppercorns, salt and milk. bring slowly to the boil , then turn off the heat and leave to infuse for 30 minutes. Melt the butter in a saucepan, stir in the flour and cook for 2 minutes; strain the infused milk and gradually stir it into the butter and flour roux. Bring the sauce to the boil over a low heat stirring continuously and cook gently for 2 m inutes. Season to taste. Cover the surface with dampened greaseproof paper and s et aside until just cooled. Stir the gelatine into the hot aspic and heat gently, stirring, until it has dis solved completely. Leave to cool, then stir half into the white sauce. Place the sauce in the refrigerator briefly until it is just beginning to thicken as the aspic content sets. Do not chill the remaining aspic and gelatine mixture. Meanwhile, remove the skin carefully from the chicken portions, place them on a wire rack. Stand the rack over a sheet of foil each portion carefully with the sauce, spooning it evenly over hicken and allowing any excess to run off. Chill for 15 minutes pat them dry and or a plate. Coat the top of the c to set.

Cut the cucumber peel, tomato peel and lemon rind into narrow strips, dip them i n the remaining aspic jelly and arrange them in decorative patterns on the chick en. Allow to set before spooning over the remaining aspic jelly. Leave the chick en in a cool place to set completely. Add the dill garnish before serving.