Serving size: Serves 4
Cuisine type: Traditional
Cooking time: More than 1 hour
Course: Lunch, Main
Favourite flavours: Chicken

Classic roast chicken

INGREDIENTS

50g butter, softened
1 clove garlic, crushed
1.4kg whole chicken
3 medium (500g) brushed potatoes (sebago), peeled and quartered lengthwise
3 medium (320g) carrots, halved lengthways, then halved crossways
2 medium (285g) white onions,
cut into wedges
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

gravy
1 tablespoon plain flour
1½ cups (375ml) salt-reduced chicken stock

METHOD

Preheat oven to 220°C (200°C fan-forced). Combine butter and garlic in a small bowl. Season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Rinse the chicken under cold water; pat dry inside and out with absorbent paper. Starting from the neck end of the breast, carefully separate the skin from the flesh of the chicken without tearing the skin. Use your fingers to spread the garlic butter evenly under the skin to cover the chicken breast. Tie the legs together with kitchen string.

Combine vegetables and oil in flameproof baking dish. Toss to coat vegetables in oil. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Move the vegetables to the outside of the dish and place the chicken in the centre, breast-side down. Roast for 20 minutes. Turn chicken breast-side up, turn vegetables, baste both with pan juices. Roast for a further 40 minutes, basting once more during cooking.

To test if chicken is cooked, pierce in the thickest part of the thigh with a skewer. If the juices run clear, it’s cooked, if they’re a little pink, return to oven for 5-10 minutes; then test again. Transfer chicken and vegetables to serving dish; cover with foil.

Gravy
Pour pan juices from baking dish into a small jug. Discard fat from surface of the pan juices; reserve juices. Sprinkle flour into same baking dish and cook, stirring, until well browned. Gradually add reserved pan juices and stock, stirring with a wire whisk until gravy boils and thickens. Strain gravy into a jug.

Sprinkle chicken with parsley. Serve with vegetables and Gravy.