Cook for Mom – Roasted Chicken with Vegetables

INGREDIENTS

ROASTED CHICKEN

• 1                      Whole chicken
• 1                      Whole lemon
• 1tbsp                Sunfoil oil
•                         Fresh thyme
•                         Fresh parsley
•                         Fresh rosemary
•                         Ground black pepper
•                         Salt

ROASTED VEGETABLES

• 4                      Mini carrots
• 4                      Yellowstone mini carrots
•                         Broccoli
• 1                      Courgettes
• 1                      Lemon
• 2                      Whole garlic bulbs – halved
• 125 ml              Sunfoil oil
•                         Salt and pepper
•                         A few sprigs of fresh thyme or oregano

GRAVY

• 125 ml              Chicken Stock

RICE

• 250ml               Allsome Rice
• 1l                      Water
• 2.5ml                Salt for taste (optional)

METHOD

1. Cook the Allsome Rice according to instructions on pack.
2. Squeeze the juice of one lemon into the chicken cavity and season well with black pepper, thyme, parsley and rosemary.
3. Place the bird on the rack of a roasting pan.
4. Squeeze remaining lemon juice over the chicken, rub with oil and sprinkle fresh thyme, parsley and rosemary.
5. Place in a preheated 200 °C oven and roast for about 1 to 1.5 hours.
6. You need only baste the chicken once or twice during roasting, paying particular attention to the breast area, which is the leanest and therefore dries out the quickest.
7. Remove from oven, cover with foil and allow to rest for at least 15 minutes before serving.
8. Preheat oven to 180 °C.
9. Wash all the vegetables and soak in a bowl with clean water to which you have added the juice of 1 lemon.
10. Soak for about 5 minutes.
11. Cut vegetables into even-sized chunks.
12. Place all the vegetables in a roasting tray.
13. Mix the oil, salt and pepper over the vegetables.
14. Place the fresh herbs on the vegetables and cover the roasting tray with foil.
15. Roast covered for about 30 minutes or until the root vegetables like carrots are soft.
16. Remove the foil and roast for another 40 minutes.
17. Continue roasting until the vegetables are caramelised and charred.
18. While the chicken is resting, make the gravy. Place the roasting tin over a low flame
19. Gradually pour in the stock, stirring all the time, until you have a thickened sauce.
20. Simmer for 2 minutes, using a wooden spoon to stir, scraping any sticky bits from the tin.
21. Strain the gravy into a small saucepan, then simmer and season to taste.

HOW TO TRUSS CHICKEN

One piece of kitchen twine (string made out of cotton or linen), about 3 or 4 times the length of the chicken.

Step 1.With the breast side up, line up the middle of your piece of twine with the chicken’s tail and tie a knot around the tail.

Step 2. Make a loop around each drumstick.

Step 3. Pull them close together and tie a knot. Again, the knot isn’t necessary but can make the whole trussing process easier, especially at first.

Step 4. Keeping the twine tight around the chicken, pass each half of the twine through the wing.

Step 5. Tuck the wings under the chicken so that they’re holding down the twine.

Step 6. Flip the chicken over so that it’s breast side down. Tie the twine around the neck so that it’s holding down the wings. Make sure the knot is secure and then cut off any excess string.