The number three works wonders in a recipe, Hugh Fearnley- Whittingstall tells Diana Pilkington

THREE may be a crowd on the dancefloor, but in the culinary world of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall it’s the perfect marriage. In what will be music to the ears of many a time-pressured cook, the TV chef has come to the realisation that some of the best dishes centre around just three main ingredients.

“There are many obvious classics, like ham, egg and chips, or rhubarb, crumble and custard,” he says. “But I wanted to look at it as a way of unlocking people’s creativity and demystifying the alchemy of creative cooking.”

In his latest cookbook and accompanying TV series, Hugh’s Three Good Things, he presents a host of dishes, from salads to mains to puds, each named after the trio of key components.

Here is one of recipes from Fearnley-Whittingstall’s latest book for you to try at home.

INGREDIENTS (Serves Four)

8 bone-in, skin-on, free-range chicken thighs (or one small free-range chicken, jointed into 8 pieces)
1 tbsp sunflower oil
1-4 red, mild-to-medium hot, fleshy chillies, to taste (optional)
4 garlic cloves, sliced
A thumb-sized piece of ginger, peeled and coarsely grated or thinly sliced (optional)
8 plums, halved and stoned
3 tbsp soy sauce
A small bunch of coriander, leaves only, chopped (optional)
Sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper

METHOD

Heat the oven to 200°C/Gas 6. Put the chicken thighs in a roasting tray, trickle with the oil and season well with salt and pepper. Roast for 30 minutes, turning once or twice.

Meanwhile, halve and deseed the chillies, if using, then cut each into 1cm strips. After its 30 minutes, take the chicken out of the oven and add the sliced chillies, garlic and ginger, if using, to the roasting tray. Turn the chicken again to make sure the aromatics are evenly distributed around and under the pieces. Roast for a further ten minutes.

Tuck the plum halves around the chicken pieces and trickle over the soy. If there doesn’t seem to be much liquid in the tray, add a few tablespoons of water. Return to the oven for ten to 15 minutes until the plums are soft and yielding their juices.

Baste the chicken and plums with the pan juices, then leave to rest in a warm place for ten minutes.

Finish with a scattering of chopped coriander, if you like. Serve with noodles or plain rice.

TIP: For a store cupboard version, you could use prunes or dried apricots (ideally the plump, ready-to eat ones) instead of fresh plums.

  • Hugh’s Three Good Things by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall (Bloomsbury, £25)