For sure hardly anyone poaches a chicken anymore but a good bird is so lovely served cold for a picnic and poaching makes for moist, delicately flavoured meat. The added bonus of a litre or more of fragrant stock can make you feel quite smug - just make sure that it’s refrigerated and either used in a couple of days or frozen - little smells worse than chicken stock that’s gone off.

Ingredients - serves 4-6

1.8kg chicken
2 cloves garlic, 3 shallots
1 leek, 1 carrot, 2 celery sticks
1 tsp whole peppercorns

2 egg yolks
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
300ml sunflower oil
2 tbsp finely chopped gherkins
1 tbsp rinsed capers, chopped
1 tbsp chopped tarragon
1 tbsp chopped chives
1 tbsp chopped parsley
juice ½ lemon
salt, pepper

Method

1 Place the bird in a pan with the stock vegetables (I leave the skins on garlic & shallots - they add colour to the stock), cover with water and bring to the boil. Skim away any impurities rising to the surface and reduce to a bare simmer (make sure that the bird always remains covered by adding more water if necessary). The chicken should be cooked through after 80 minutes poaching, lift from the stock and allow to cool before refrigerating. Discard stock vegetables, strain and store stock for use within a couple of days if refrigerated - otherwise freeze.

2 For the sauce put yolks, vinegar and mustard in a decent sized bowl and, using an electric beater, whisk together for a minute before beginning to add the oil. Do this a few drops at a time to begin with to avoid ‘splitting’ the sauce and making sure it is emulsified before adding more. By the time you’ve added about half the oil it should be thickening and you’ll be able to add it in a drizzle rather than drops and will eventually have a lustrous mayonnaise consistency. Now fold in the herbs, gherkins and capers and season to taste with lemon juice, salt and pepper.

3 Remove the skin from your cold chicken and discard then joint it into legs, thighs and breasts. Serve with a generous dollop of tartare sauce, new potato salad and crisp salad leaves.