Recipe: Cider-soaked chicken by Matthew Evans

• Yoghurt and raspberry cake with elderflower syrup
• Apple and radish salad with walnut oil

This is an old way of making a roast chicken taste more lively, simply by wrapping the just-roasted bird in a cider-soaked cloth and taking it on a picnic. On the drive to the picnic spot the cider perfumes the chicken meat. In France, they might use verjuice; cider in parts of Britain; and you could use a decent beer, too. Because I live in an apple-growing region, I've gone for a little cider myself.

1.8 kg free-range chicken

olive oil, for brushing

about 150ml dry cider

Meyer mayonnaise (see below) for serving

Lightly oil the chicken and season well with salt and pepper. Roast the chicken as you normally would in a 180C oven for about an hour. When it's cooked, soak a clean tea towel (dish towel) in water, wring it out, then soak it in enough cider so that it's a bit wet and dripping madly. Wrap the chicken in this cloth so it steams in the cider a bit. Take the chicken on a picnic, in a clean tray, and eat at room temperature or while still warm, with Meyer mayonnaise as a dipping sauce or to moisten bread to eat it with.

Meyer mayonnaise

juice and finely grated zest of ½ small Meyer lemon

2 egg yolks

1 tsp mustard

125ml vegetable oil

125ml extra virgin olive oil

1 tbsp hot water

To make the Meyer mayonnaise, whisk the lemon juice, zest and egg yolks in a medium bowl with the mustard until smooth. Add the combined oils in a trickle and continue whisking while you add the oil in a stream, getting faster with the stream as you go. When all the oil is added, whisk in the hot water. Taste, add salt and freshly milled black pepper if needed, and allow to sit for a few hours in the fridge for better flavour. Store any leftover mayo in a sterile jar in the fridge, and use it up quickly. View it as a treat; a wonderful condiment to rejoice in for just a couple of days after making.