‘Roast Chicken and Roast Potatoes with Herb Stuffing and Gravy’
You will need: (Serves 6)
1 large chicken – 2kg approximately
Olive oil to drizzle
1 lemon
12 medium potatoes (at least)
Sea salt
For the stuffing:
1 large onion
100g unsalted butter
400g breadcrumbs
1 tbsp dried parsley
1 tbsp dried thyme
For the gravy:
2 tbsp flour
500ml chicken stock
Method:
The stuffing
Make up the stuffing and leave it to cool before you put the chicken on to cook.
Peel and finely chop the onion.
Melt the butter in a saucepan over a low heat and soften the onion in the pan with a lid on for 5–10 minutes.
Turn off the heat and stir in the breadcrumbs, parsley and thyme.
Transfer the mixture to a baking dish and leave to cool.
The chicken
Preheat the oven to 190oC/Gas Mark 6.
Cut the lemon in half and place both pieces in the cavity of the chicken.
Place the chicken in a roasting tray, drizzle olive oil over the chicken and season with some crumbled sea salt flakes and put it in the oven.
Work out the cooking time of your chicken, which will vary by weight (20 minutes per 450g + 20 mins extra).
Cooking the Roast Potatoes
Peel and parboil the potatoes (cut to same size as each other) for 10 minutes.
Drain the potatoes and rattle them in the saucepan to bash the outside for a crunchier roastie.
Roast the parboiled potatoes* for 1 hour around the side of the chicken coated with the chicken juices or in a separate tin drizzled with some oil.
Cooking the Stuffing
Cover the cooled stuffing with tinfoil and cook for 45 minutes towards the end of the cooking time for the chicken. Toss the stuffing with a fork halfway through the cooking time so that it cooks evenly.
Making the Gravy
Remove the chicken and potatoes from the roasting tin and place the tin on the hob over a low heat.
*[If you want your potatoes crispier, return them to the oven, drizzle with oil and blast up the heat while you make the gravy]
Scrape up all the juices and mix with the flour to make a paste and cook for 2 minutes.
Gradually add in the chicken stock, stirring continuously, bringing it to the boil then reduce to simmer for five minutes.
Note: If you think there is an excessive amount of fat and juices, pour some off. Generally, 1 tablespoon of flour to 2 tablespoons of fat and juices to 400/500ml stock, and double this for a larger meal, e.g. Christmas dinner. For a thicker gravy, use more flour.
Serve the chicken, stuffing, potatoes and gravy with some roasted carrots and parsnips.
With the first day of school over and no homework to do they all put their feet up after dinner and watched a back to back double repeat episode of ‘Modern Family’.
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