Replacement For Cider In Spring Chicken

Our answer

Nigella's Spring Chicken (from KITCHEN is a brasied chicken dish that uses dry cider. In the UK cider is a sparkling alcoholic beverage which comes in dry, medium and sweet varieties. In the US it is usually known as "hard cider", as opposed to the non-alcoholic apple juice cider.

Dry cider is usually crisp and fresh, with apple notes. So you would need a fairly young and un-oaked white wine and although the style varies by producer the pinot blanc or sauvignon blanc grapes would be worth looking for. However it is best to read the tasting notes for the wines and try one that suggests flavours of green apple, or something with a slight acidity. As the alcohol level of wine is much higher than cider, you may prefer to use half wine (250ml/1 cup) and half stock (250ml/1 cup) instead. For those who can't use alcohol then the cider could be replaced with a low salt chicken or vegetable stock and a spritz or two of lemon juice could be added at the end.