Poached Chicken with Saffron Sauce & Cucumber
Serves 2·Added 5 May 2026 by Tom Melhuish
Main
Ingredients
| 1 1/2 | kg | chicken (preferably corn-fed) |
| 1 | onion(stuck with 3 cloves) | |
| 2 | sticks | celery(chopped) |
| 1 | carrot(thickly sliced) | |
| 1 | leek(cleaned, trimmed and thickly sliced) | |
| 2 | tomatoes(roughly chopped) | |
| 2-3 | sprigs | thyme |
| 1 | small bunch | parsley(roughly chopped) |
| 250 | ml | dry white wine |
| 300 | ml | chicken broth |
| 4-6 | small cucumbers(depending on size, or 1 medium-sized cucumber, halved and each half cut into quarters lengthways) | |
| 2 | tsp | pastis(optional, but for me essential) |
| 25 | g | butter |
| 2 | rounded tsp | flour |
| 100 | ml | double cream |
| 1 | tsp | saffron threads |
| small squeeze | lemon juice(optional) |
Method
1.Put the chicken into a roomy pot, breast-side up, and make sure there is enough room around the bird to also accommodate the flavouring vegetables and herbs. Add these, then pour in the wine and sprinkle a little salt over. Pour in enough water so that it does not entirely cover the chicken; try to leave the breasts about a quarter exposed, because the leg and thigh joints (immersed in liquid) take much longer to cook than the breasts will, effectively, steam.
2.Place over a moderate heat and allow to come up to a simmer. When a fair amount of unsightly grey scum has accumulated on the surface, start to skim this off with a large spoon until almost none remains, a little more will be generated throughout the cooking time, but remove when and if necessary. Now let the chicken cook very gently for 45-50 minutes, covered. Keep a keen eye on the proceedings, as you only want the broth to blip gently, not boil. After the time has elapsed, switch off the heat and leave to rest in the broth, still covered, for a further 15 minutes.
3.Lift out the bird, remove any bits of stray vegetable matter and place the bird on a dish. Strain the broth into a bowl using a fine sieve and discard the exhausted vegetables. Wipe out the original cooking pot and return the chicken to it. Return the cooking broth to the chicken in its pot and keep warm, covered.
4.To cook the cucumber, first measure off about 300 ml (11 fl oz) of the broth surrounding the chicken. Put the cucumber into a medium-sized saucepan that will accommodate it snugly. Pour over the broth, add the pastis (if using) and simmer the cucumber until tender when poked with a skewer; it should be soft, but not on the verge of collapse. Remove the pieces with a slotted spoon and put them in the remaining broth surrounding the chicken, to keep warm. Keep the cucumber cooking liquid to hand.
5.To make the saffron sauce, melt the butter in another small saucepan and stir in the flour to make a roux. Cook for a minute or two, then start to whisk in the cucumber cooking liquid until smooth and beginning to thicken. Allow to simmer very gently, stirring regularly, for about 10 minutes, before sprinkling in the saffron. Stir it in (don't use a whisk, as all the saffron stamens will become entangled in it); switch off the heat and cover the pan, allowing the saffron to infuse in the sauce for about 5 minutes. Now add the cream and a little salt and pepper, and let it come back to a simmer. Add a squeeze of lemon juice, for a sharper edge to the sauce.
6.To serve, take the chicken from the pot and carve off the breasts. Remove the skin from each breast and cut the chicken in starting slices. Lay on two hot plates, arrange the cucumber alongside and spoon plenty of the saffron sauce over. Some small, peeled new potatoes would be very nice here, too, if you wished.
Recipe Notes
AI · may be inaccurate
Serving suggestions
- small, peeled new potatoes
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