Roast chicken with anchovy butter, green tomatoes and deep-fried sage

Serves 4

Use free-range organic chicken for this dish. Here l have used a cut known as supremes which is the breast and wing tip. Ask your butcher to do this for you. The sharp, clean, sweetness of the green tomatoes offers a clean, pure contrast to the deep, salty flavour of the anchovies.

If you cannot get hold of green tomatoes then you can always substitute them for a good quality vine tomato such as San Marzano.

For the anchovy butter

150g/5oz unsalted butter
1 tin of anchovies in olive oil
3 cloves of garlic
1 small bunch of flat-leaf parsley, stalks off, leaves only, finely chopped
A few grindings of black pepper

For the chicken

4 chicken supremes
1 bunch of sage
2 green tomatoes, sliced
Sea-salt and black pepper
Olive oil, enough to fry the sage

Heat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas7. For the anchovy butter, place all the ingredients into a blender and purée until smooth. Remove to a small bowl and set aside.

Place a frying pan over a medium heat (it needs to be large enough to accommodate the chicken comfortably). When the pan is hot, pour in a tablespoon of olive oil. Season the chicken generously on both sides and fry, skin-side down. When the skin is crispy and golden place the pan in the oven (without turning the chicken) and roast for 6-8 minutes or until the breast feels firm to touch.

Remove from the oven and keep warm. Place the pan that you have cooked the chicken in (with the oil still in it) over a medium heat. When smoking, add the sage and fry until crispy, this will only take a very short time. Divide the tomatoes among 4 plates. Lay the chicken on top and spoon over the anchovy butter. Finish with the sage leaf.