Mark Hix recipe: Poached breast of chicken with celery

If you want a healthy and simple main course to cook at home, then this could be the one for you. The celery stock gives a great perfume and flavour to the dish and it's a great way to use up all the peelings and trimmings of celery.

4 free-range chicken breasts, skinned
The trimmings, peelings, etc from your head of celery, chopped
1ltr chicken stock; a good cube will do
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

To serve

3-4 sticks of celery, peeled if stringy and cut into ?cm dice
A handful of celery leaves

Put the celery trimmings in a saucepan with the chicken stock, bring to the boil and simmer very gently for 30 minutes, then strain through a fine-meshed sieve into another pan. Put the chicken breasts in the stock, season and simmer for 7-8 minutes.

Next, transfer the breasts on to a plate and cover tightly with clingfilm to keep warm.

Continue simmering the stock until you have about 300-400ml left, add the diced celery and simmer for 5 minutes until tender, then add the leaves and remove from the heat.

To serve, place the chicken breasts in a pasta-type bowl and spoon over the broth.