Simple Roast Chicken
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So many times I’m asked for the simplest of recipes. Anything from how to cook a steak, make a cake or even something as simple as dicing an onion.   I’d not often thought much about it, until thumbing though a weekend paper last weekend. The recipe at the rear of the weekend magazine was hard, not something that the time poor home cook might successfully complete without a far bit of angst and quite a extra ingredients. Ingredients that might then sit around in the back of the pantry unused and unloved.

What’s needed is some basics done right.

Easy, simple and delicious.

Roast chicken seemed like the perfect start. So heres a video with a simple recipe, both for the chicken and the vegetables. Quick and simple and  more importantly everything here you can easily buy at the super market or might already have.

So here’s the first of “How to Cook” a simple roast chicken, enjoy.

Ingredients

1.  1 chicken. 

    The best you can afford.  I like the free range organic.

    They are a little more expensive but well  worth it for  the flavour.

2.  Some Salt.

    I like Malden sea salt, once again a little more expensive but well worth it for flavour.

3. Some Extra Virgin Olive OIl.

    I use the Cuteria brand from Italy, it’s delicious.  Send me a message and I’ll tell you where to purchase.

4. Half a lemon and some thyme.

5. Some roughly chopped celery, onion and carrot.

    If you don’t want to buy the vegetables just use an oven rack.

Method.

Pre heat oven to 180 degrees celsius

Wash and dry chicken.

Cut vegetables and place in a pile on a roasting tray with a piece of baking paper on it.

Place chicken on top.

Cover with a couple of good glugs of oil and sprinkle with salt.

Cut the lemon in half and place inside the chicken with a few sprigs of time.

Place in oven and roast until golden, around 45minutes to 1 hour.

Rest in warm oven for 10 minutes before carving.

 



For the roast vegetables.

Peel and cut up some potatoes and sweet potato. I like desiree potatoes.

Mix in a bowl with a couple of good glugs of olive oil and sea salt. Add some fresh rosemary leaves. Mix and pour out on to a baking sheet lined with baking paper. Spread out and roast until golden with the chicken for around 30 minutes.

For the Chard.

Blanch 1 bunch of silverbeet, refresh in cold water and chop.

Cut half a brown onion into strips and chop some garlic, 1 clove.

Saute onion in a glug of olive oil, when soft add garlic. Cook for a further minute.

Add silverbeet and cook with a little salt until soft. Add a knob of butter just before serving.