Epicure Recipe Card #14: Roast Chicken and Chips

So after a one-week break from the recipes cards to discuss the piggy, we’re back into it with a simple roast chicken dish. I don’t tend to roast whole chickens as usually there’s only the husband and myself to feed, so I roast segments on-the-bone instead. I prefer not to have too many leftovers otherwise we keep eating the same things repeatedly during the week. Chicken drumsticks and Marylands are great to use because they have plenty of skin to hold in the meat juices and a nice proportion of fat for flavour as well as being forgiving to a bit of over-roasting.

The chicken specified below serves 2 but the quantity of vegetables serves 3. This was not done on purpose; rather it just happened to be what I had in the vegetable crisper at the time. So throw in another Maryland and you have dinner for 3 or some leftovers for one. I served crusty bread rolls alongside but there’s nothing to stop you making a gravy to go with it as well.

Roast Chicken with Vegetables (serves 2)

(adapted from The Age – Epicure 50 Best Recipe Cards, recipe by Jill Dupleix)

Ingredients:

·         200g chat potatoes

·         ¼ onion, finely sliced

·         1 tbs olive oil

·         2 tsp mixed dried herbs

·         salt and pepper

·         120mL water

·         2 chicken Marylands

·         1 carrot, cut into wedges

·         ¼ medium cauliflower, separated into florets

·         1 cup frozen peas

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 220°C. Peel potatoes and cut into wedges. Toss potato and onion with the oil and 1 teaspoon of the dried herbs. Season with salt and pepper and arrange in a roasting dish in a single layer. Pour over the water and roast for 10 minutes.
2. Turn wedges of potato over and loosen any bits of onion which may be catching to the bottom of the dish. Rub skin of chicken Marylands with a little extra olive oil and remaining dried herbs before placing cut-side down amongst the potato. Roast 20 minutes.
3. Add carrots and roast 15 minutes before adding cauliflower. Roast a further 10 minutes, add the peas then turn the oven off and allow the lot to sit in there for 5 minutes. Remove the roasting dish from the oven and let sit 5 minutes for the chicken to rest before serving. 

happy cooking!