Therefore, my main sources of protein are chicken, fish and seafood. I love it and I cook it often. Who can ever miss a piece of steak if you’ve got a buttery prawn tail or plump mussel on your plate? But let’s get back to the chicken.

My favourite way of eating chicken, without a doubt, is roasting chicken pieces in the oven with some white wine, red onion, lemons, garlic and a spicy rub. There are a few things as comforting to me as a juicy piece of chicken with a crispy skin. Add to that a delicious gravy of pan juices over a bed of soft, fluffy couscous and I’m pretty much in food heaven.

Having said that, I’ve cooked chicken in every possible way – roasted, poached, stir-fried, fried, braised, in stews, in curries, in pies, in pastas. Or so I thought. It was while paging through one of my recipe books – and by the way, I think I have a serious recipe book addiction – that I came upon a recipe for cooking chicken in milk. Actually, there were two recipes on the page – both for cooking meat in milk. One was pork, and one was chicken.

I wasn’t convinced. I mean, chicken in milk? That didn’t sound appetising at all and I paged on. But the chicken in milk recipe haunted me and I realised I just had to try it! Boy, am I glad I did! This recipe is going to blow your mind. It certainly blew mine! And dare I say it? This is probably my second favourite way to eat chicken these days. (Fast gaining on my favourite!) Yes, it’s not the prettiest looking dish you’ll ever make, but what it lacks in visual appeal, it more than makes up for in taste.

The lactic acid in the milk and the lemons break down the chicken, so it becomes soft and juicy and infused with gorgeous lemon-y flavour. This one’s a keeper.

TUISTAFEL (ERRIEDA DU TOIT) – CHICKEN IN MILK

This is the third recipe of the incredibly talented Errieda du Toit that I’m sharing. I’ll let her explain in her own words:

“Some say this is the best oven-roasted chicken ever. What it lacks in appearance, it more than makes up for in effortlessness, mega taste, affordability and the soothing aromas of citrus, garlic and buttery caramel.”

Go ahead, try it. You can thank me later.

SERVES 4 - 6

100 g butter/olive oil

1 whole chicken

Salt and pepper

1 cinnamon stick (don’t skip this ingredient, it does really add a beautiful, subtle flavour)

A handful of fresh sage leaves

4 bay leaves

Peel of two lemons (peeled off with a vegetable peeler – only the skin, not the white bits!)

10 garlic cloves in the skin (it cooks in the milk and becomes soft and luscious)

625 ml milk

Preheat the oven to 190?C. Heat the butter or olive oil and heavy-bottomed pot in which the chicken will fit snugly. Season the chicken all over with salt and pepper brown on all sides. Take out the chicken and pour off most of the butter/oil (leave a little behind to coat the bottom of the pot). Place the chicken back in the pot with the rest of the ingredients and cook slowly in the oven (I turned the oven down to 170/180?C) uncovered, for about 90 minutes or until cooked through. Keep an eye on it and add more milk if it seems to go dry. Baste it every 20-25 minutes with a few spoonsfuls of the milk.

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ooOoo