Sunday best: Thomasina Miers’ recipes for aromatic chicken one-pot and salted caramel banana cake
I love Mexican chillies for the subtle flavour they give to cooking.Take the ancho, with its sweet, earthy notes of chocolate and plum.That adds immense depth to dishes traditional and avant garde alike, and is now readily available online and in shops.In today’s one-pot, which is a near-perfect way to cook a whole chicken, the ancho adds character to a classic sofrito, while in the pudding the savoury notes and touch of heat complement the dark caramel, helping to create a banana cake that is anything but bland.If you can’t find ancho, try any other medium-heat chilli flake in its place (nora, aleppo), or simply leave it out.
The results will be delicious either way.Wild garlic tends to be very strong at the start of the season, so I prefer to cut it with parsley; and if you can’t find wild garlic, go all-out parsley with a peeled garlic clove.This pesto is also magic on a jacket spud, pasta or a toasted cheese sandwich, but it really comes into its own when stirred through these sublime chicken juices.Prep 10 minCook 2 hrServes 4-51 tbsp olive oil 150g smoky bacon lardons 1 medium chicken (about 1¾kg)1 head garlic4 banana shallots, peeled and halved 4 celery stalks, washed and trimmed2 heads fennel, chopped into large chunks 2-3 rosemary sprigs 2 bay leaves Salt 1 tbsp fennel seeds 1 tsp black peppercorns 1 tsp ancho chilli flakes (optional)500g new potatoes, halved180ml white wineFor the pesto50g pine nuts 40g wild garlic 30g parsley 1 tsp salt 150ml olive oilHeat the oven to 190C (170C fan)/375F/gas 5.Put the oil in a large casserole on a medium high-heat, saute the lardons for five or six minutes, until golden, then transfer to a small plate.
In the same pan, brown the chicken in the bacon fat, turning it with two wooden spoons so it browns all over.Once browned, transfer the chicken to a second plate.Break open the garlic head, then bash the cloves to release their papery skins, which you can chuck away.Put the shallots, celery, fennel and garlic in the casserole, add all the fresh herbs, season generously with salt, then turn down the heat to medium and saute for eight to 10 minutes.While the vegetables are cooking, lightly crush the fennel seeds and peppercorns, then stir them into the vegetables, add the ancho flakes, if using, and let the mix catch and caramelise lightly.
Once the vegetables are looking wonderfully glossy and golden, return the lardons and chicken to the pan and add the halved potatoes,Pour in the wine and 300ml water and bring to a simmer,Cover with a tight-fitting lid, pop in the oven, and cook for about 90 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and falling off the bone and the potatoes are tender,Meanwhile, make the pesto by blitzing all the ingredients in a blender until green and vibrant,Serve the aromatic chicken drizzled with the pesto.
A rich, delicious fudgy cake that manages to be at once decadent and wholesome.Perfect with Greek yoghurt, but you could no doubt whip up a burnt caramel buttercream if you wanted more of that naughtiness.Prep 15 minCook 1 hr 20 minServes 6-8270g golden caster sugar 180g room-temperature unsalted butter, cubed480g ripe bananas, peeled and sliced1 tsp vanilla essence 2 large eggs, beaten290g flour – I used a mix of white and wholemeal spelt1 tsp baking powder 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda ½ tsp salt 90g dark chocolate, roughly chopped Greek yoghurt or cream, to serveFor the topping2 tbsp sesame seeds 3 tbsp demerara sugar 1 tsp ancho chilli flakes (optional) ½ tsp salt ½ tsp ground cinnamonStart by making the caramel.Put the sugar and three tablespoons of water in a light-coloured, stainless-steel pan (this will help you gauge the colour of the caramel later) and put it on a medium-high heat, stirring to help the sugar dissolve.Cook, swirling the pan occasionally, until the caramel turns a deep, dark colour, then take off the heat and whisk in the butter.
Keep warm over a very low heat.Blitz the bananas in a food processor, then pour in the warm caramel, blitz again and pour into a large bowl.At this point, heat the oven to 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6 and line a 24cm cake tin with greaseproof paper.Add the vanilla essence to the banana bowl, then slowly beat in the eggs one at a time.Start on the topping.
Lightly toast the sesame seeds in a frying pan, then tip into a mortar and bash lightly.Add the demerara sugar, ancho chilli flakes (if using), salt and cinnamon to the sesame seed mix and toss to combine.Back to the batter: sift the flour, baking powder, bicarb and salt into a second bowl.Make a well in the centre of the banana batter, then tip in the flour mix and whisk to combine.Stir in the chopped chocolate, then pour the cake batter into the lined tin and sprinkle with the sesame topping.
Bake in the middle of the oven for 35-45 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.Leave to cool in the tin for 10-15 minutes before turning out, then cut into fat slices and serve with thick yoghurt or cream.
Michigan defeats UConn to win NCAA men’s basketball championship – as it happened
I’m waiting for a Final Four MVP (or MOP, as they call it – Most Outstanding Player) announcement. And here it is …It’s Elliot Cadeau. Well deserved.On that note, we’ll wrap this college basketball season. Back again in November
‘You have to have a bit of heartache’: Justin Rose on his bid to avoid being Masters nearly man
Squint and you will see Justin Rose’s name twice on the tournament record boards at Augusta National. It’s there on the big bronze winner’s list at the water fountain by the entrance, beneath the entries marking Sergio García’s victory in 2017 and Rory McIlroy’s eight years later, both, as it says in the small print underneath, won in a playoff that Rose lost. Only one other player in Masters history lost two playoffs, and that was Ben Hogan, who had the consolation of winning it twice outright, in 1951 and 1953, in between finishing second in 1942, 1946, 1954 and 1955.Throw in Rose’s second-place finish behind Jordan Spieth in 2015, when he finished four shots back, and he has come just about as close as any man can to the greatest prize in the game. The only player who finished second more often without actually winning the thing was Tom Weiskopf, who was runner-up four times in the space of seven years
Sir Craig Reedie, key London 2012 Olympics figure and former BOA chair, dies aged 84
Sir Craig Reedie, a giant of the Olympic movement, who served as chair of the British Olympic Association for more than a decade and was instrumental in bringing the Games to London in 2012, has died at the age of 84.Tributes have poured in for the Scots-born Reedie, who was also president of the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) when Russia was found guilty of state-sponsored doping across “a vast majority” of winter and summer sports, including at the 2014 Sochi Olympics. During this tumultuous period, Reedie and Wada recommended that Russia be banned from the 2016 Rio Games – a call that was ultimately rejected by the International Olympic Committee.Reedie was vice-president of the IOC during part of his Wada tenure and a former badminton competitor who led the campaign for its Olympic inclusion starting at Barcelona ‘92.Sebastian Coe, the World Athletics president, who led the organising committee for the London Games on whose board Reedie sat, said: “I am devastated for his family
County cricket: Sussex beat Leicestershire, Yorkshire draw against Glamorgan – as it happened
Four lots of last-gasp ditch-digging brought the first round of County Championship games to a tense finish.Northamptonshire’s last pair defied Lancashire for an hour to earn a draw at Wantage Road, strung together by an unbeaten 197-ball 95 from George Bartlett. The game looked done when James Anderson and the new ball reduced Northants to 181 for nine, but Ben Sanderson gave brave support and Bartlett straight-batted the final over from Tom Hartley despite a warren of close fielders.Derbyshire gnashed their teeth at the County Ground, as Matthew Waite and Ethan Brookes masterminded a Worcestershire rearguard action, brushing off an attack including Mohammad Abbas and Shoaib Bashir.Tawanda Muyeye’s unbeaten 109 off just 121 balls for Kent kept out Durham at Chester-le-Street and a rollercoaster match at Sophia Gardens was enlivened by a brave declaration from Glamorgan’s captain, Kiran Carlson
Chicago Sky trade Angel Reese to Atlanta Dream in first major move of WNBA offseason
The Chicago Sky have traded star forward Angel Reese to the Atlanta Dream, the teams announced Monday.The trade is the first blockbuster move of the WNBA offseason, which is operating on a condensed timeline after months of negotiations between the league and its players over a new collective bargaining agreement finished last month.Reese, 23, was a two-time All-Star with the Sky, who selected her with the No 7 pick in the 2024 draft after a standout college career at Maryland and LSU. Reese’s rivalry with fellow rookie Caitlin Clark became one of the major storylines of that season, which set records in viewership and attendance.“I’m beyond grateful for the opportunity to join the Atlanta Dream organization,” Reese said in a statement Monday
Horse welfare debate helps highlight Grand National’s unrivalled status
There will never be a year when horse welfare is not an issue in the run-up to the Grand National, and that is, in a sense, a positive for the sport. It is a sign that the National retains its status as the biggest race of the year – in terms of audience, betting turnover, name recognition and pretty much any other measure you care to choose. Nearly two centuries after the first running in 1839, it still has deep roots in British culture as an annual sporting rite of spring.Within the racing bubble too there are few subjects that raise hackles and generate debate quite like the National, not least because for many racegoers and punters it is the race that first stoked their interest in the sport. Significant changes to the fences and other conditions in recent years, with the aim of minimising the risk of serious or fatal injuries, have left some fans, at least, feeling it is no longer the same race that they fell in love with several decades ago
Iceland chain offers job to man sacked by Waitrose after confronting shoplifter
Universal Music, home to Taylor Swift and Drake, receives €55bn takeover offer
UK’s leading AI research institute told to make ‘significant’ changes
Google to tap into gas plant for AI datacenter in sharp turn from climate goals
Courtney Lawes ‘officially un-retiring’ for England after announcing Sale move
The Masters is a welcome oasis in golf’s fractious world, despite its stuffy foibles | Ewan Murray