Chicken, barley and morels

Roast chicken is always a crowdpleaser, but here it's taken up a notch thanks to the addition of a hearty barley stew, studded with luxurious morel mushrooms. You could use other dried wild mushrooms if morels are tough to track down, but they're well worth seeking out – their flavour is simply unmatched.

Charlie says: ‘Roast chicken is a simple pleasure; whenever it’s on the menu at the Ox Barn at Thyme, it becomes an immediate bestseller. Morels are a wonderful nutty, earthy mushroom. Their short season means they come at a price and often it’s easier to get hold of dried morels, which work beautifully in a sauce or stew such as this. If you can get fresh, ensure you clean them carefully with a pastry brush, as nooks in wild mushrooms harbour dirt and more. Cutting them in half is a good idea too. That said, if you manage to get hold of fresh mushrooms, it’s worth the effort. Skip the soaking step, and fry them in a pan with butter, following the instructions below after that.’

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