Serves 4

Spring marks the arrival of the very short morel season. You should be able to get them from a specialist grocer or deli; if not, substitute the dried variety with 20g dried chanterelle or porcini mushrooms, and the fresh with fresh chanterelles or the more widely available shitake, oyster or chestnut mushrooms.

800g Jersey Royal potatoes, scrubbed not peeled
Few sprigs of rosemary
4 tbsp olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 garlic cloves, lightly crushed in their skins
4 chicken breasts, skins on
Few sprigs of thyme
Few knobs of butter
100g fresh morels
Squeeze of lemon juice

For the morel velouté

10-12 dried morels
Olive oil, for sautéing
3 large shallots, peeled and finely sliced
1 large thyme sprig, leaves picked
1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
175ml each dry white wine and chicken stock
250ml double cream

1 Preheat the oven to 180C/Gas 4. Soak the dried morels for the velouté for 15 minutes in enough hot water to cover. Dry the scrubbed potatoes in kitchen paper, then tip them into a roasting tray with the rosemary. Toss in 2 tablespoons of olive oil and some seasoning, then roast for 30-40 minutes, until golden and tender.

2 Infuse the other 2 tablespoons of oil with the garlic in a large, ovenproof pan over a moderate heat for 2 minutes. Pat the chicken breasts dry with kitchen paper and season on all sides. Add the thyme to the oil, then sauté the chicken skin-side down for 5 minutes, or until the skin is golden and crisp.

3 Turn the chicken over, add a few knobs of butter to the pan and sear the other side for 1-2 minutes while spooning over the oil and butter. Turn the chicken again and roast in the oven skin-side down for about 15 minutes until cooked through, then keep warm.

4 For the sauce, drain the morels through a sieve over a bowl and reserve the soaking liquid. Heat a little olive oil in a pan and sauté the shallots, thyme and garlic for 5-6 minutes until soft and golden. Add the soaked morels, a little more oil and some seasoning. Cook for 5-6 minutes, then carefully pour in the soaking liquid, leaving the sediment behind.

5 Add the wine and let it bubble until it is almost totally reduced, then add the stock and boil for 8-10 minutes, until reduced by half. Finally, add the cream and simmer until the sauce is the consistency of single cream. Pass it through a sieve, pressing the mushrooms and shallots to extract as much flavour as possible. Return the sauce to the pan and check for seasoning.

6 Sauté the fresh morels in a few knobs of butter with some seasoning. Finish with a squeeze of lemon juice and keep warm. Re-heat the velouté. Slice each chicken breast horizontally in two, arrange on warmed plates, pour the velouté around and scatter with the sautéed morels. Serve with the roasted Jersey Royals and some asparagus or spinach on the side.

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