This is one of Andy’s favourites from Jamie Oliver’s book ‘Jamie’s Great Britain’. I’ve modified some of the measuring of ingredients so its a little bit more how we do it “chuck a bit of that in” etc. The teaspoons we would do the same – ‘a few good shakes”! I’ve included the roast chicken marinade recipe here as this is what we would do on a weekday, the full recipe is great and if you have a bit more time and makes a wonderful big meal. For the full shebang go to http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/chicken-recipes/empire-roast-chicken/.
- Organic free range chicken – Check the weight and recommended cooking guide on the pack before you throw it in the bin!
- 2-3 cloves grated or finely chopped garlic
- 1 thumb size ginger finely grated
- 1 fresh red chilli , finely grated
- 1 heaped tablespoon tomato puree
- 1 heaped teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 heaped teaspoon turmeric
- 1 heaped teaspoon garam masala
- 1 heaped teaspoon ground cumin
- 2 heaped teaspoons full fat natural yoghurt
- 1 lemon, zest and juice
- 2 level teaspoons sea salt
Cut slashes into the chicken legs. Mix all the ingredients up in a bowl and then rub it all over the chook and into the thighs. Marinate your whole chicken in this combination of good stuff in the fridge for a few hours or overnight. We usually leave out the tomato paste as its up to 12% sugar and often only a teaspoon is needed then the rest sits in the fridge until we throw it out! So we just don’t have it sitting in our pantry. If you don’t have these dried herbs or spices in your cupboard, just buy them! (Don’t give me that look!) The more you eat real food, cook meals and make looking after yourself a priority, you will use all of these regularly and more. #investment
Once you’re ready to cook preheat your oven to 180 deg C and bung the chicken in. Use your pack instructions as a time guide, otherwise roast chicken is generally 25mins per 500g at 180deg C. The legs should break off easily and when you stab into the side of the breast the juice running out is clear with no pink. Take her out to rest for 10 minutes before serving. Maggie Beer likes to flip the bird (*eye-roll) and rest it on the breasts so that the juices are drawn down into the driest part of the bird. Andy tells me this works well!