Whether you serve the buttermilk chicken alongside rice, potato wedges, mash or chips, it’ll surely be a big hit with meat lovers.

Needing time for the chicken to marinate in the delicious buttermilk, it’s best to prepare the night before you intend to eat the meal.

James Martin said: “This fried chicken is proper Saturday-night dinner territory – serve it on a giant sharing plate so all the family can dive in.”

As shared in James Martin: Home Comforts cookbook, the recipe can take as little as 10 minutes to cook.

Serving up to four people, here’s how to make James Martin’s southern-fried buttermilk chicken with tomato salsa recipe.

James Martin’s buttermilk chicken with tomato salsa recipe

Ingredients

For the chicken:

• 400ml buttermilk
• One tsp salt
• One whole chicken, jointed, then cut into 10 portions
• 125g plain flour
• One unwaxed lemon, finely grated: zest only
• One-and-a-half tsp hot smoked paprika
• One-and-a-half tsp English mustard powder
• One-and-a-half tsp celery salt
• One-and-a-half tsp dried thyme
• One-and-a-half tsp dried oregano
• Two tsp cracked black peppercorns
• Vegetable oil, for shallow frying

For the salsa:

• 90g caster sugar
• 300g tomatoes, finely chopped
• Two red chillies, finely chopped
• 300g tinned sweetcorn, drained and rinsed
• Two tbsp red wine vinegar
• One lime, juice only
• Two tbsp roughly chopped fresh flat leaf parsley leaves
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Whisk the buttermilk and salt in a bowl until combined. Add the chicken pieces and mix until coated in the buttermilk. Cover and chill in the fridge for at least four hours, and preferably overnight.

Once marinated, remove the bowl from the fridge to allow it to return to room temperature before cooking. Preheat the oven to 200C (180C fan/gas six).

Mix the flour, lemon zest and all of the spices in a bowl until well combined. Lift the chicken pieces out of the buttermilk, getting off most of the mixture, then roll them in the spiced flour until completely coated.

Heat the oil in a large, heavy-based, ovenproof frying pan, and add the chicken pieces, in batches, placing them skin-side down. Fry for two to three minutes on each side, or until golden brown all over.

Transfer the pan to the oven and continue to cook for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and the skin is crisp.

Remove from the pan using tongs and set aside to drain on kitchen paper. Keep warm. Cook the remaining batch of chicken pieces in the same way.

Salsa

Meanwhile, heat the sugar in a heavy-based frying pan over a high heat, without stirring, until it melts to form a golden-brown caramel. James Martin advised: “Swirl the pan occasionally to stop the caramel from catching on the bottom of the pan.”

Add the chopped tomatoes to the pan, stir to coat them in the caramel, and cook for one to two minutes, or until just softened.

Add the chillies, sweetcorn, red wine vinegar and lime juice and continue to cook for six to eight minutes, or until the tomato has completely broken down. Stir in the parsley, then season.

To serve, pile the chicken pieces onto a serving platter. Serve the salsa in a bowl alongside.