Roast chicken
Ingredients
1 whole chicken
1 onion, cut in quarters
2 lemons
2 cloves garlic
Fresh mixed herb bunch, thyme, oregano, rosemary, sage
100g butter, softened
Extra virgin olive oil
Method
Heat oven to 180C (fan forced).
Prepare chicken by drying the cavity with kitchen paper. Cut one of the lemons in half and squeeze the juice all over the chicken as well as in the cavity. Keep the lemon halves. Season the whole chicken with salt and pepper.
Finely chop about 1 tbs of the herbs and mix with the butter to make herb butter. With your hand, gently separate the skin from the flesh of the chicken breast to create a pocket and then rub in the herb butter. If you can keep separating the skin push some of the butter over the thigh meat.
Place the used lemon halves in the chicken cavity together with garlic cloves, onion quarters and a mix of herbs.
Use some kitchen string to tie the back legs with the tail, so that the cavity is held together.
Drizzle the chicken with olive oil, place in a baking dish, breast side up. Slice the remaining lemon into rounds and arrange them over the chicken breast. Drizzle with a little more olive oil. Add 1cm of water to the pan and cover with a layer of baking paper and then foil. Bake for 45 minutes. Remove the foil, baste with pan juices and return to the oven for a further 45 minutes or until golden brown. Check if the chicken is cooked by piercing the fleshy part of the thigh with a skewer. If the juices are pink, cook for longer but of they are clear it is ready.
Rest the chicken for 15 minutes before carving and serving.
Duck fat roast potatoes
Ingredients
1 kg potatoes, such as sebago, nicola or dutch cream
100g duck fat
Fresh thyme
Method
Wash or peel potatoes and cut into quarters. Place in a pot of salted cold water and bring to the boil. Cook for 10 minutes until they begin to soften but are not cooked through. Drain and return the potatoes to the hot saucepan. Shake to help dry and also to crush them a little (this will help make them crispy).
Heat oven to 180C (fan forced).
Place the duck fat in a baking dish and heat for 5 minutes in the oven. Remove from the oven and carefully add the potatoes to the hot duck fat and mix to coat. Season with salt and pepper and add the thyme. Return to the oven for about 40 minutes or until potatoes are crispy and golden.
