ROAST CHICKEN

There's no fuss with this recipe just simple, amazing flavour. Sage, lemon, butter, garlic. Oh, and a cracking gravy.

My nostrils are tickling. Let's have some chicken. 

MY FAVOURITE ROAST CHICKEN

serves 4-6

30g butter, softened

2 cloves garlic

1.5kg free-range chicken, giblets removed, room temperature

6 sage leaves

1/2 lemon

olive oil, for drizzling

1/2 tsp plain flour 

100ml white wine

200ml chicken stock or hot water

Preheat the oven to 200C/fan180C/gas 6. 

Mix the butter with the garlic in a bowl and season. Place the chicken on a roasting tray and loosen the skin from the neck. Gently push your fingers up and under the skin, taking care not to tear it. Slide up the softened butter and massage the skin to spread the butter across the breast. Then, slide the sage leave so that they sit flattened between the butter and flesh. When the skin crisps, the sage leaves will to. Tuck the skin under the bird.

Press the lemon into the chicken cavity. Drizzle the bird with olive oil and season with sea salt flakes. 

Put the chicken in the oven and roast at the high oven temperature for 10 minutes. Turn the oven down to 180C/fan160C/gas 4, roasting for a further 50 minutes until the juices from the chicken run clear.
Transfer the chook to a large board. Leave the chicken to rest, loosely covered with foil, while you make the gravy.

Pour the juices from the roasting tin into a small pan with the flour. Whisk the juices so the flour is soaked up, then add the wine. Turn up the heat and boil for 2 minutes before adding the stock/water. Simmer for 5 minutes, strain and serve. Perfect with mashed potato and buttery carrots.