If you don’t want to use chicken thighs: use chicken breast. I like thighs as they are juicier, but breasts will work just fine. I also think, if you have time, that serving a whole roast chicken would be delicious here. Either roasted whole as it is, or spatchcocked would be very good and it cooks a bit more quickly too.

For chicken breasts: Heat a high-sided frying pan over medium heat. Rub the chicken with a drizzle of olive oil and season with salt and pepper, then place in a pan. Fry for about 4–5 minutes, skin side down, then turn and cook for another 2–3 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pan and place on a baking tray. Roast in the oven at 220c for 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to rest for at least 2 minutes.

Do I really need to use anchovies? At the risk of sounding like a broken record, please do try this even if you think you don’t like anchovies! I know opening a tin of anchovies for only two can be annoying, so I would firstly recommend buying a jar of them as then it’s easy to reseal and pop back into the fridge. They last a few weeks. You can now also find anchovy paste in tubes (like garlic paste), and that might be a handy alternative for you if you want to use anchovies but hate the open jar in the fridge and never have another recipe to use it for. If you do want another way to use them up, whizz them up into a cheat’s Caesar dressing with mayo and lots of parmesan, or mash them into butter, roll in parchment paper and pop into the freezer for another time. Or make a double batch of the anchovy creme fraiche and have it as a dip throughout the week. Just keep it in a sealed tupperware in the fridge.

Herbs: you could use parsley instead of basil.

How to double the recipe: Double everything and continue on. I think if you are only doing 6 or so chicken thighs, you can keep the quantities for the anchovy creme fraiche the same. Any more, you probably want more creme fraiche and I like it nice and saucy.

How to get your children to eat it too: I tend to serve the chicken, the tomato salad and then serve with some carbs alongside, such as rice or potatoes, even couscous. Mine don’t love the anchovy creme fraiche but it’s easy to served it on the side so the grown ups can enjoy it!

What to do with leftovers: any leftover creme fraiche is delicious as dip with crudités, crackers, crisps. I also use this as a base in my tomato puff pastry tart which is so simple and delicious too. The tomato salad is good on anything or with anything and keeps in the fridge for a few days in a tupperware.