poached chicken

miss k has been perfecting her chicken and leek pie and as such we have been tearing through masses of chicken and leek. to assist her in her pursuit of the perfect chicken and leek pie, i've been trying different methods of poaching for the chicken and this is my favourite, at the moment. the chicken is quite well flavoured and the resulting stock is strongly flavoured. i do stress that this is my poached chicken of the moment - i also like a simple poaching liquid which is flavoured with nothing other than salt - simplicity itself; it just depends on the mood and what's available.

1 chicken
celery tops
2 carrots, diced
a few cloves of garlic, crushed
2 teaspoons salt or to taste

place everything in a stockpot just big enough so the chicken fits snugly. cover the chicken with water.

bring everything to the boil and lower the heat to a bare simmer. allow to simmer for 20 minutes and remove from the heat. allow the chicken to cool in the liquid - this keeps the flesh moist.

use as required - i like using chicken cooked this way for anything requiring precooked chicken, such as salads and sandwiches.