Chicken Tonnato

Ingredients

For the chicken:
2 cups dry white wine
2 cups chicken stock
3 cloves garlic
1 onion, thickly sliced
1 large carrot, peeled and roughly chopped
1 large celery rib, roughly chopped
2 fresh bay leaves
3 dried cloves
12 peppercorns
Peel (without any pith) from a ripe lemon
4 large skinless chicken breasts on the bone
For the Tonnato Sauce:
100g tuna chunks in oil
14 anchovy fillets
4 parsley stalks
2 fresh egg yolks
2 tbsp lemon juice (from a very ripe lemon)
125 ml extra virgin olive oil
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
To garnish:
Fresh parsley, chopped
3 tbsp capers
Zest of 1 lemon
Freshly ground black pepper

Method

For the chicken:
1. Place the wine in a saucepan with the stock, garlic, onion, carrot, celery, bay leaves, cloves, peppercorns and lemon peel. Bring to the boil.
2. Place the chicken breasts bone-side down into the stock, bring back to the boil, turn down the heat, cover and simmer for 25 minutes. Remove from the heat and let the chicken stand in the stock for a further 5 minutes. Remove the chicken and let it cool.
3. Strain the sauce and return to the pot. Simmer till it has reduced to more or less 250ml, then remove from the heat.
For the tonnato sauce:
1. Place the tuna with its oil, the anchovies and the parsley stalks in a blender and give it a whizz.
2. Add the yolks with one tablespoon of lemon juice, whizz again until smooth.
3. Now, with the motor running, slowly add the olive oil, and once it is incorporated slowly add the stock.
4. Adjust the seasoning and top up the lemon juice if the sauce needs it.
Plating: Slice the chicken thinly off the bone and overlap the slices on a platter. Spoon over the sauce and garnish with the parsley, capers and lemon juice. Finish with a grind of black pepper.