Annie Bell's Vegetable Garden Pot-roast Chicken

Have ready a large casserole with a lid. Coat the chicken with oil and season it. Heat a frying pan over a medium heat and colour the chicken on all sides, then place it breast-up in the pot.

Add the cider, garlic, herbs and some seasoning. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 25 minutes. Trim the carrots, peel the turnips and cut into wedges if necessary, trim and clean the leeks and slice thickly on the diagonal (or, if using baby leeks, cut them in half).

Add these vegetables to the pot, submerging them in the liquid, and simmer, covered, for another 30 minutes.
Transfer the bird to a warm plate, tipping any juices inside back into the pot, and leave to rest for 15 minutes.

Simmer the cooking juices, leaving the vegetables in the pan, until reduced by about a third. Combine the flour and butter to make a paste. Discard the herbs, stir in the crème fraîche and flour paste and simmer for another minute or so until it thickens very slightly into a sauce.

Carve the chicken and serve with the vegetables and sauce, scattered with a pinch of tarragon. Offer bread for mopping up and/ or buttery potatoes on the side.