Ingredients

• splash of vegetable oil
• 8 chicken thighs
• boned
• skin- on
• salt
• 3 large free-range egg yolks
• 15g/½oz caster sugar
• ½ vanilla pod
• split in half lengthways and seeds scraped out
• 625g/1lb 6oz frozen peas
• defrosted
• 25ml/1fl oz double cream
• 100g/3½fl oz fresh raw peas
• 1 shallot
• finely chopped
• ½ bunch marjoram
• leaves picked
• pinch curry powder
• pinch ground ginger
• splash of olive oil
• 8–12 pea shoots
• to garnish

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
• Heat an ovenproof frying pan until hot
• add a little vegetable oil and fry the chicken
• skin-side down
• until the skin is golden-brown. Transfer the pan to the oven and cook for a further 15 minutes
• or until cooked through. Remove from the oven
• season to taste with salt and leave to rest in a warm place.
• In a bowl
• whisk together the egg yolks
• sugar and the vanilla seeds.
• Blanch 375g/13oz of the frozen peas in a pan of salted boiling water
• then drain and transfer to a blender. Pulse to a purée.
• Warm the cream and puréed peas in a saucepan
• then pour over the egg yolk mixture. Return the contents to the saucepan and whisk the mixture over a medium heat until it thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
• Pour into a bowl
• cover the surface of the custard with cling film to prevent a skin forming and refrigerate.
• Put the remaining frozen peas in a blender and pulse a couple of times to form a rough paste. Add the fresh peas
• shallot and marjoram. Season with curry powder
• ginger and salt
• then add a little olive oil
• to taste
• and mix together.
• To serve
• dress each serving plate with a few spoonfuls of the pea custard
• two chicken thighs and the pea salad. Garnish with two or three pea shoots.