Chicken, figs and artichoke by 21212, Edinburgh 

Head Chef, Paul Kitching and his partner Katie O’Brien moved to Edinburgh and opened 21212, a restaurant with rooms, in May 2009.

Only eight months after opening, the restaurant received a Michelin Star, making it the only Michelin-starred restaurant with rooms in Edinburgh to date. 

21212 soon became a leading restaurant in ingredient innovation and while Paul’s creations yield unexpected combinations, the deep thought given to the balance of each dish ensures flavours that complement rather than compete. Though the menu never has any more than three choices for any course, variety is achieved by having a new menu each week, which celebrates the best produce available. 

For more information visit: www.21212restaurant.co.uk

Ingredients: Serves 4
4 chicken breasts, preferably with skin
4 dried figs rehydrated in vegetable stock
2 slices of black pudding cut into halves
5 or 6 Jerusalem artichokes
600ml chicken stock
100ml of cream
1 shallot
1 Romanesco cauliflower 
 8 new potatoes
1 small turnip
4 large radishes 
Mangetout
20ml olive oil

Method
For the Sauce:
1 Peel, wash and thinly slice the shallot.
2 Wash, peel and cut the Jerusalem artichokes into cubes. Reserve in lemon juice and water to stop them from discolouring.
3 In a pan, melt a knob of butter and sweat the shallots over a low heat.
4 Once the shallots are translucent add the Jerusalem artichokes and sweat them for another 2 minutes. 
5 Add the chicken stock and cream and simmer gently for around 30 minutes or until the Jerusalem artichokes are easily pierced with a knife. Blitz and season to taste, reserve.

For the chicken:
1 Season the chicken with salt and dry bake in an oven preheated to 70˚C for 45 minutes. Once cooked remove the chicken from the oven and cover it loosely with a cloth.

For the garnish:
1 Wash the vegetables.
2 Cut the Romanesco into florets, the new potatoes into quarters, the turnip into triangles and the radishes and mangetout into diagonally cut halves.
3 Cook all the vegetables in salted boiling water until al dente.

To serve: 
1 Heat the olive oil in a frying pan and cook the black pudding. Remove from pan and turn heat up. Brown the chicken breast skin side down.
2 Add figs for heating when the chicken is nearly ready.
3 In a separate pan, gently reheat the vegetable garnish with a splash of water and olive oil.
4 Serve and cover with hot artichoke sauce. We serve this dish with a pickle crisp.

In association with Taste Communications.

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