Chicken Leg Confit With Potatoes And Escarole Recipes

Steps:

• Lay the leg portions on a platter, skin side down. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of the kosher salt and black pepper. Place the garlic cloves, bay leaves, and sprigs of thyme on each of 2 leg portions. Lay the remaining 2 leg portions, flesh to flesh, on top. Put the reserved fat from the chicken in the bottom of a glass or plastic container. Top with the sandwiched leg portions. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt. Cover and refrigerate for 12 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F.
• Remove the chicken from the refrigerator. Remove the garlic, bay leaves, thyme, and chicken fat and reserve. Rinse the chicken with cool water, rubbing off some of the salt and pepper. Pat dry with paper towels.
• Put the reserved garlic, bay leaves, thyme, and chicken fat in the bottom of an enameled cast iron pot. Sprinkle evenly with the peppercorns and salt. Lay the chicken on top, skin side down. Add the olive oil. Cover and bake for 12 to 14 hours, or until the meat pulls away from the bone.
• Remove the chicken from the fat. Strain the fat and reserve. Pick the meat from the bones and place it in a stoneware container. Cover the meat with some of the strained fat so that there is a 1/4-inch layer of fat on top. The chicken confit can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.
• The excess oil can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator and used like butter for cooking. The tinge of chicken taste in the oil is wonderful and I use the oil to roast potatoes, cook green beans, and pan-fry veal.

Steps:

• Mix the thyme leaves with the salt and lemon zest. Rub over the chicken legs, then chill for 1 hr. Heat oven to 140C/120C fan/gas 1.
• Pat the chicken dry with kitchen paper. Place in a small roasting tin with the remaining confit ingredients. Bake in the oven for 2-2 1/2 hrs until tender, then remove from the oil and drain on a wire rack. Reserve and strain the oil - this is great for roasting veg or making more confit. Reserve the shallot and garlic.
• To make the hash, heat 1 tbsp of the infused oil in a heavy-bottomed frying pan. Add the potatoes and cook for about 10 mins until they start to soften. Add the bacon and cook, stirring, until it's crisping. Add the leeks, chilli, confit shallot and garlic (squeezed out of its skin). Cook for another 5 mins until the leeks have softened and the potatoes are cooked through. Season, then add the spinach, kale and parsley. Stir until the leaves have wilted. Add a splash of vinegar.
• Poach the eggs in barely simmering water for 3 mins, then drain on kitchen paper. Serve the chicken with the hash, eggs and a sprinkling of parsley.