. The title dish of this book is of the best ways of roasting a chicken I've come across. Simple to cook, but tasty in the extremeIngredients
1.8kg (4lb) free range chicken
110g/4oz butter at room temperature
Salt (preferably Maldon Sea Salt) & Freshly Ground Black Pepper
1 lemon
A couple of sprigs of thyme, tarrogon or a mixture of the two
1 crushed clove of Garlic
Cooking
- Preheat the oven to 230 degrees C (450 F, Gas Mark 8)
- Cover the bird with butter and put it in a genrous sized roasting tin
- Season with the salt and pepper
- Halve the lemon and squeeze juice over the bird
- Stuff the bird with the herbs, garlic and lemon halves
- Roast the chicken initially for 15 minutes at the high temperature
- Baste then reduce the temperature to 190 degress C (375 F, Gas Mark 5) and roast for about another 45 minutes, basting occaisionally. N.B. To ensure that the bird is cooked, insert a skewer or knife and press on the flesh. If the juices released are clear it is cooked, if they are red or pinkish in colour then continue cooking.
- Rest the roast bird for at least 15 minutes prior to carving to let the juices settle.
As it cooks your house will slowly fill with the fragrence of lemon and herbs which should get the mouth watering. The juices left in the pan, infused with the taste of lemon, garlic and the herbs, will make an excellent gravy for your bird. A variation popular in Italy is to 'wet roast' the bird by adding a little wine, chicken stock or water to the tin before roasting. This sauce can be further suplemented with the adition of mushrooms (porcini would be great), tomatoes, additional herbs, diced bacon, cream, spices (both saffron and ginger go well) or anything else you can think of.
If Sherlock Holmes was asked by his sidekick, why this dish tastes so good, he'd probably say "A lemon entry my dear Watson".
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