roast (half of) chicken for two
serves two
½ a chicken
15g unsalted butter, softened
sea salt + black pepper
3 cloves of garlic, unpeeled, smashed with the back of a knife
1 sprig rosemary
1 sprig thyme
1 onion, peeled and cut into eighths
a little olive oil
200ml chicken stock
An onion is added to brown in the tray, thereby providing depth of colour to your gravy. Otherwise it can look a little insipid.
Preheat the oven to 220C/200C fan. Rub the skin of the chicken with the butter and season generously. Put the herbs and garlic in a roasting tray and place the chicken half, skin side up, on top. Scatter the onion pieces around it and drizzle them with a little oil. Roast for 15 minutes. Turn the oven down to 190C/170C fan and baste the chicken with the juices in the tray. Roast for another 30-40 minutes or so (depending on the size of your chicken), basting every 10 minutes until the skin is a deep golden colour and the juices run clear (this should coincide almost exactly with the time it takes to do your roasties - result).
Remove the chicken to rest and spoon out most of the fat/oil. Place the roasting tray over a medium heat. At this point you can sprinkle over a spoonful of flour if you fancy a thicker gravy - if so, cook it off for a minute. Pour in the chicken stock, scraping and stirring to deglaze - it's important to loosen all those delicious crusty bits. Bring to a simmer and cook for a 3-5 minutes. The gravy should be a satisfyingly deep brown colour. Check for seasoning and strain into a serving jug.
Apart from roasties, the only other accompaniments I tend to have are bread sauce, redcurrant jelly and watercress. Oh and mustard. Must have mustard.
½ a chicken
15g unsalted butter, softened
sea salt + black pepper
3 cloves of garlic, unpeeled, smashed with the back of a knife
1 sprig rosemary
1 sprig thyme
1 onion, peeled and cut into eighths
a little olive oil
200ml chicken stock
An onion is added to brown in the tray, thereby providing depth of colour to your gravy. Otherwise it can look a little insipid.
Preheat the oven to 220C/200C fan. Rub the skin of the chicken with the butter and season generously. Put the herbs and garlic in a roasting tray and place the chicken half, skin side up, on top. Scatter the onion pieces around it and drizzle them with a little oil. Roast for 15 minutes. Turn the oven down to 190C/170C fan and baste the chicken with the juices in the tray. Roast for another 30-40 minutes or so (depending on the size of your chicken), basting every 10 minutes until the skin is a deep golden colour and the juices run clear (this should coincide almost exactly with the time it takes to do your roasties - result).
Remove the chicken to rest and spoon out most of the fat/oil. Place the roasting tray over a medium heat. At this point you can sprinkle over a spoonful of flour if you fancy a thicker gravy - if so, cook it off for a minute. Pour in the chicken stock, scraping and stirring to deglaze - it's important to loosen all those delicious crusty bits. Bring to a simmer and cook for a 3-5 minutes. The gravy should be a satisfyingly deep brown colour. Check for seasoning and strain into a serving jug.
Apart from roasties, the only other accompaniments I tend to have are bread sauce, redcurrant jelly and watercress. Oh and mustard. Must have mustard.
