Croque monsieur, the classic French snack, becomes something special here alongside lightly spiced chicken and a rich cherry sauce.
150g/5½oz pitted cherries
300ml/10fl oz chicken stock
4 tbsp bourbon or rye whiskey
3 tbsp white vermouth
3 tbsp red vermouth
4 tsp orange juice
250g/9oz lard
skins from the chicken drumsticks
small handful chervil
small handful dill
small handful sage
50g/1¾oz pecans, roasted, shelled and halved
small handful edible flowers
2 tsp avocado oil
1 tsp lemon juice
For the croque monsieur, preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6. Place the pumpkin in a small roasting pan, coat with the oil and season with salt. Roast in the oven for 20-25 minutes, or until completely tender, then blend in a food processor to make a thick, chunky purée.
Meanwhile, skin the chicken drumsticks, reserving the skins. Remove the knuckle joints and scrape away the flesh from the bottom of the drumsticks so the meat will shrink back during cooking to reveal the shank bone.
Blend together the salt, pepper, spices, oil and butter and rub the mixture into the chicken. Place the drumsticks in a roasting tin and roast for 15 minutes, or until browned and just cooked through. Remove the pan from the oven and leave to rest in a warm place until ready to serve.
For the sauce, place the cherries and stock in a saucepan, bring to the boil and reduce the volume of liquid by half. Pass through a fine sieve and set the liquid aside.
Heat the whiskey, white vermouth and red vermouth in a small pan and flambé until the flames die down. Add the orange juice and reduce by two-thirds. Stir in the cherry liquid and reduce by a further one-third or until the sauce is thick and glossy. Remove the pan from the heat and reheat gently just before serving.
For the crackling, melt the lard in a saucepan and gently fry the skins until crisp. Drain on kitchen paper, then break into small pieces and scatter with sea salt. Keep warm until ready to serve.
For the salad, roughly tear the herbs and mix in a bowl with the pecans and the flowers. Blend together the olive oil and lemon juice in a small bowl, season with a little salt and gently mix into the salad.
To finish the croque monsieur, heat a griddle pan over a high heat. Make sandwiches with the ham, cheese and pumpkin purée, buttering both sides of the bread with the softened butter. Griddle the sandwiches for two minutes on each side until golden-brown and the cheese is starting to ooze out. Cut each sandwich into four small triangles.
To serve, spoon the sauce around the plates. Place two triangles of croque monsieur in the middle and place the chicken on top. Scatter the salad and crackling around the chicken and serve immediately.
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