Nigel Slater's recipes for sautéed chicken with olives and lemon, and with mushrooms, mustard and sour cream

Dark or white meat? I'm sitting on the fence, loving them both equally, albeit in different ways. In a chicken sandwich, with lemon mayonnaise, chirpy watercress and sweet peppery basil leaves, I prefer thin slices of breast (which I also spread with a thin wave of yuzu kosho). But it's the dark meat - the thighs and drumsticks and the juicy little oysters lurking in the undercarriage - that I use for the pies, stir-fries and endless dinners of baked chicken thighs that come out of this kitchen almost every week.

Sometimes the recipe itself decrees the most appropriate cut. A slowly simmered stew will turn chicken breasts to shreds, but will reduce even the toughest thigh meat to silk. A sweet sauce made with white wine, cream and tarragon is impossible to beat with the pale flesh of the brisket, especially when left in the hands of a French cook.

If I open the fridge on a Monday night to the glorious sight of leftover roast chicken on its tray, it's the drumsticks I head for, twisting them from the carcass and stuffing them into n' any sauce at hand (preferably garlic mayonnaise, but I wouldn't say no to almost anything).

Leftovers are , of course, as much of a treat as the rest of the bird, but for this week's recipes, I'd go all out with the fat thighs and plump breasts of the best-bred bird our budgets will stretch to .

Chicken sautéed with olives and lemon

Lemons, thinly sliced, tenderize deliciously like cooked chicken, olives and potatoes. You eat them, the skin and all. There is a richness to this recipe, despite the humble ingredient list. For 4

chicken breasts 1 kg olive oil 2 tbsp onions 2 large lemons 1 saffron a pinch (optional) small potatoes 350g, small green olives a large handfulchicken broth < /p>

For the dough: garlic 3 large cloves smoked paprika ½ tsp ground turmeric 2 tsp cumin seeds 1 tbsp teaspoon olive oil 2-3 tablespoons

Prepare the spice paste first. Peel the garlic and place it in a mortar or food processor. Add a pinch of salt and reduce to a paste. Stir in the paprika, turmeric and cumin seeds and grind, introducing enough olive oil (about 3 tablespoons) to make a loose paste.

Place the chicken breasts in a bowl, add the spice paste and toss to coat. Cover with a plate and leave to marinate in the fridge for a good hour.

Peel and chop the onions. Heat a little olive oil in a large frying pan, add the onions and let them soften and color slightly. Remove from skillet and set aside. Add the chicken breasts to the pan, letting them lightly brown on both sides.

Thinly slice the lemon and add to the pan with the saffron and enough broth to reach a halfway up the chicken pieces. Finely chop the potatoes into pieces and add them to the pan, return the onions and cover with a lid and cook for 15-20 minutes until the chicken and potatoes are cooked.

Add the olives and check the seasoning. Remove the chicken and keep it warm, then increase the heat and let the liquid reduce a little until it is slightly velvety. I serve it with a knife, fork and a spoon.

Chicken with mushrooms, mustard and sour cream