This book wouldn’t have been complete without a show-stopping roasted chicken recipe. Whether you’re feeding a crowd or making dinner for two, it’s hard to go wrong with a delicious roasted chicken. I wanted to share a version of my mother’s infamous roast. Her secret? Seasoning the chicken with a crumbled stock cube for the chicken-iest flavour. We’re keeping everything else simple: some turmeric for an irresistible yellow colour, sharp, crunchy peppercorns and a little bit of garlic.
If you’re roasting a whole chicken, you might as well throw some veggies underneath to absorb all the schmaltzy drippings. We’re roasting some potatoes alongside the chicken, while the lemon at the bottom of the roasting tin melts in the schmaltz. Your kitchen is going to smell incredible!
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 220°C/gas mark 7.
- Prepare the potatoes: in a 23 × 33cm roasting tin, combine the potatoes, onion, lemons, olive oil, cracked pepper and a big pinch of salt. Toss to coat everything in the oil. Push the lemons in the middle, tucking them underneath the potatoes to ensure they stay submerged and infuse the schmaltz.
- Spatchcock the chicken: this isn’t the prettiest thing you’ll do in the kitchen, but spatchcocking the chicken will be worth it. Remove the neck or giblets (if any) from the chicken cavity (you can roast them here or freeze for use in stock). Using kitchen paper, pat the chicken dry.
- Place the chicken breast-side down on a large chopping board, with the tailbone facing you. Using a pair of strong kitchen shears and a little elbow grease, cut along the right side of the backbone, all the way up towards the neck. Now cut along the left side of the backbone and remove the backbone completely (you can roast the backbone here or freeze it with the other trimmings for stock).
- Flip the chicken breast-side up, loosely pulling out the thighs and wings.
- Position your palms over the centre of the chicken. Channel your inner chiropractor and crack the wishbone: press down on the chicken breast until you hear a crack and the chicken seems a little flatter. Pull the thighs out to the sides of the chicken, trimming any extra skin if needed. Usea paring knife or skewer to poke the chicken skin all over to help the fat render out evenly.
- From a height, generously season both sides of the chicken with salt. Place the chicken over the potatoes, skin-side down, cavity-side up and set aside while working on the marinades.
- In a small bowl, stir together 3 tablespoons of the olive oil, the chicken stock and the cracked black pepper. In another small bowl, stir together the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, the garlic and the turmeric.
- Brush a small amount of the stock/black pepper oil all over the chicken cavity, saving most of it for the other side. Flip the chicken skin-side up and brush the remaining stock/black pepper oil all over the skin, in all crevices. Twist and tuck the wing tips underneath the breast to prevent them burning. Pull out the chicken thighs so they’re not tucked in underneath the breast.
- Roast until the chicken skin is lightly golden but not yet crisp, 20–25 minutes. Remove from the oven and brush the garlic/turmeric oil all over the chicken. Spoon some of the chicken fat and juices all over the chicken.
- Return to the oven and roast for 10–15 minutes. The skin should look crispy and slightly charred. Loosely cover the chicken with foil and continue baking until the internal temperature of the chicken breast measures 74°C, 10–20 minutes, depending on the size of your chicken.
- Remove the chicken from the oven and allow to rest for 10–15 minutes.
- Carve the chicken and transfer to a serving platter. Spoon the tender lemon pieces all over the chicken. (Alternatively, chop the lemon and mix it with more of the schmaltz from the tin before spooning.) Serve with the roasted potatoes and onion.
Extracted from: Pass the Plate (Ebury Press)
