Baked Saffron Chicken With Asparagus & Butter Beans

This is a bit delayed because at the moment I have no cookbooks - they are all in boxes at the new house.  So a bit of browsing on the Cuisine website and we have...

(the new asparagus out at the moment looks really good)

Baked Saffron Chicken With Asparagus & Butter Beans  1/9/2005 Lauraine Jacobs The crispy crust on these baked chicken legs and thighs gives a crunchy contrast to the best of the new spring vegetables, asparagus and baby carrots. They are tossed together with large Spanish butter beans in a light chicken and saffron broth. Try matching with a Sauvignon Blanc matured in oak.

6 whole chicken legs (preferably organic) 6 tablespoons olive oil 6 tablespoons flour 2 teaspoons salt 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1 teaspoon crushed and pounded saffron threads (or good-quality powdered saffron) 450g fresh asparagus spears 300g new season’s baby carrots, scrubbed 1 litre chicken stock 600g bottled butter beans pinch saffron threads 8 large basil leaves, cut into fine shreds

Preheat oven to 190ºC. Cut the chicken legs into thighs and drumsticks. Rub the chicken with 2 tablespoons of the oil to form a light coating. Combine the flour, salt, pepper and saffron in a bowl. Mix then rub this mixture over the surface of the chicken. Heat the remaining oil in a frying pan and gently fry the chicken until golden. Transfer to an ovenproof dish and bake for 30 minutes until cooked through but still juicy. Meanwhile cut the asparagus into 6cm lengths, discard the tough woody ends, then boil the asparagus and baby carrots separately, each in a little chicken stock, until tender. Drain both and retain the carrot cooking stock. Set the vegetables and keep warm. Heat the beans in their juices then drain and keep warm. Reheat the carrot cooking stock with a few pounded saffron threads. Simmer to reduce to 1 large cupful. To serve: Place a chicken leg and thigh in the centre of each plate and surround with vegetables and beans. Reheat the carrot cooking stock for 1 minute then pour the sauce to surround the dish but not swamp it. Garnish with basil. Serves 6.