Yesterday I bought a poulet fermier (farm-reared chicken) from the excellent butcher’s shop in Roujan. It was a large bird – 2.4 kilos – and it had lived. Its flesh was firm, the leg meat dark and tasty, nothing like the chickens available in supermarkets. I chopped some pickled lemons and garlic and marinaded the chicken for a few hours with these and some olive oil.
I added a glass of white wine and a little salt, brought it to the boil, put a lid on it and simmered for about an hour and a quarter. While the chicken was simmering I made a relish with two more chopped pickled lemons, a tablespoon of chopped pitted green olives, a little chopped parsley and two chopped garlic cloves.
Lo Jardinièr prepared some rice to which he added sliced onion sautéed in olive oil, a handful of raisins, and a dozen green apricots previously cooked in syrup, stones removed and chopped. He used half a cupful of the syrup from the apricots with the cooking water for the rice.
When the chicken was almost cooked I removed it from the liquid (wine now turned into a delicious sauce) and put it in a roasting dish in a hot oven for half an hour until the skin was browned.
The chicken, apricot rice and lemon relish all went very well together, and with a glass of Faugères red wine from the domaine d’Estève at Roquessels.
Lo Jardinièr has now posted the piece about jachère that I trailed the other day on his blog – here
olivesandartichokes 
Sounds delicious! Also the rice, very interesting!
It was, and even better, there is a lot of chicken left over for other meals!
It sounds like a wonderful meal. I have a question…green apricots. Were they unripe apricots or is that a variety of apricots?
They’re unripe fruits that were blown off the tree – I didn’t want to waste them.
Thank you…I’m sure they added to the overall flavor of the dish.
That looks like an excellent chicken and great relish too!
Thanks! I’m very pleased to have made up the relish as it will go well with a lot of dishes, I think.
Reading about the things you eat is almost as good as eating them myself, and much less trouble.
I’m glad you enjoy them!
As good as you lemon-chicken sounds, it’s that relish that really caught my attention. What a great combination of flavors and, coincidentally, i just found a recipe for preserving Meyer lemons. I need to try both!
They sound like two good ideas that go well together!
Fabulous flavours and I’m very envious of the classic casserole in the opening shot:)
Yes, one of my favourites – 1970s Enzo Mari – and so useful because it’s huge! I’m lucky enough to have a nice smaller one too.
I’m with John on this it was the relish that grabbed my attention to. Lovely combination of flavours, which I need to replicate!
I’m sure you’ll enjoy it!
That sounds so delicious. I usually put ‘things’ in my rice but I have not tried fruit, great idea. Diane
Absolutlely beautiful – a great way to “send off” such a fantastic bird. That relish sounds amazing too!