CleverRoot

2 0 | t h e c l e v e r r o o t DIANA HENRY IS the U.K.'s biggest name in cooking, with a weekly column in The Sunday Telegraph, previous titles as The Guild of Food Writers' Cookery Writer of the Year, a regu- lar feature on BBC Radio 4, and ten popular cookbooks to her credit. Henry also contributes to several magazines and has won a James Beard Award, yet most foodies on this side of the pond have never heard of her. On my recent visit to Henry's home city of London, we met for a delightful afternoon's conversation accompanied by a chilled bottle of Champagne. It's immediately apparent why Henry has found such success in the very crowded culinary field: Just like her recipes, she is down-to-earth, easygoing, and extremely likable. Put succinctly, Henry's style is to simplify. "When I had a baby, my cooking changed," she told me. "'Quick' cooking was no longer the answer—I couldn't stir a risotto for 25 minutes with a baby on my hip. I needed effortless cooking, and I had to find simple ways to turn the building blocks of meals into something that would make me salivate as well as sustain me." This relaxed, laidback approach to cooking doesn't mean Henry's food is humdrum or monotonous: Her most recent cookbook, Plenty, draws inspiration from cuisines from all over the world, with recipes citing influences from France, Italy, Spain, Ethiopia, Morocco, Greece, and Turkey. However, none of the recipes are overly complicated, and they don't call for exotic, expensive, and difficult-to-find ingredients. In her introduction to Plenty, Henry illuminates her mis- sion to take "a thoughtful approach to food—one that is better for you in terms of money saved and pleasure gained, and for the world around you. By that I don't just mean the planet, but the people who produce our food." It helps, also, that she's a talented and fluent writer. Her next book, How to Eat a Peach, will be published in April of this year, and her previously-published work is available in most bookstores and on Amazon. Of all the Diana Henry recipes I've tried, my favorite has to be the one for chicken pot-roasted in milk, bay, and nutmeg from her classic 2015 book A Bird in the Hand, summarized as a tome of "chicken recipes for every day and every mood." See the attached sidebar for the incredibly simple recipe. SUCCESSFUL COOKBOOK WRITER AND CHEF DIANA HENRY BRINGS A LAIDBACK APPROACH TO GOURMET COOKING by Anthony Dias Blue Chicken Pot-Roasted in Milk, Bay, and Nutmeg Serves 6 4 lb. chicken 1 ½ cups whole milk 2 tbsp. unsalted butter 2 tbsp. olive oil 10 garlic cloves, peeled but left whole 3 bay leaves Salt and pepper Good grating of nutmeg Finely-grated zest of 2 unwaxed lemons Preheat the oven to 350° and heat the butter and olive oil in a Dutch oven that can hold the chicken. Season the bird—tie the legs together if you want to—and brown it all over. Use two wooden spoons to turn the chicken over, seasoning it as you go, and try to avoid piercing the skin. Pour off the fat left in the pan (don't throw it out; you can keep it to fry potatoes). Add the milk, garlic, bay leaves, nutmeg, and lemon zest to the pot. Bring to just under a boil, then remove from the heat. Cover and cook in the hot over for 1½ hours, removing the lid halfway through cooking. Baste occasionally, spooning the milk up over the bird. At the end of cooking time, the bird will be succulent and golden and the juices will be copious and slightly curdled. Squash the garlic cloves with the back of a fork so they break down and flavor the juices. Taste to see if you want to add a little more nutmeg. Serve—I love it with orzo or a rice pilaf—after spooning the juices over the chicken and preparing whatever starch you prefer for a side dish. The vegetable you choose depends on the time of year: In winter it's good with roast carrots, or with roast tomatoes and a salad of bitter leaves in the summer. © Diana Henry Bird in the Hand Britain's Best Cook ■cr

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