Fat, Salt (and Everything Nice)

I am an absolute genius. No, you can say what you like, but this meal is heavenly. It is absolutely mindboglingly amazing. I think it's all the double cream, salt and chicken fat that does it. Taste and enjoy; my boyfriend exclaimed, with the first bite he took: "I will never eat a saltless diet! Even if it shortens my life span, I want to eat this chicken." He's on to his third piece now... if I hadn't polished off the rest myself he'd probably keep eating.


Ingredients
For the chicken
Free range chicken legs and thighs (5 pieces)
Salt
Pepper
Olive oil
5 cloves of garlic

For the parsnip 'hutspot' (mash)
1 large onion
1 stock cube
750 grams potatoes
500 grams parsnips
50ml double cream
Salt

In a quick Google search for fat and salt, this is the yummiest photo that came up.

For the mustard sauce
25 grams of salted butter
25 grams of plain flour
10 tbsp of the hutspot water
100ml double cream
1 tbsp dijon mustard

First, preheat the oven to 240 degrees C. Rub the chicken all over with the olive oil and place on a baking tray, skin side up. Sprinkle half a teaspoon of salt over the skin, ground some fresh pepper over all pieces. Throw the cloves of garlic around the chicken. Put in the oven and immediately turn down the oven temperature to 190 degrees C. Leave the chicken in the oven for at least 35 minutes; check whether the chicken is cooked through by pricking the fattest bits with a fork and look whether a clear liquid comes out.

While the chicken is roasting in the oven, peel your potatoes and parsnips and chop them in rough pieces. Peel away the outer layer of the onion and chop up in eights. Put the veggies on in a pot of water, add the stock cube. As soon as the vegetables are all tender (this takes 20 minutes or so), drain and mash. Add the double cream and salt (to taste).

While the veggies are cooking, quickly make the mustard sauce: melt the butter on medium heat, take the pan off the heat and add the flour. Mix until you get a doughy consistency and the butter and flour are mixed well. Add some of the veggies' cooking liquid and the double cream. You should get a silky, slightly thick consistency. Add the mustard and stir.

Serve the 'hutspot' with a piece of chicken on top and the sauce spooned around. Enjoy!