Chicken Roast with Vegetables
I was raised in a pure vegetarian family, with no word of chicken ringing around even from a distance. It took me sometime to learn how to handle chicken and now can say the it’s the easiest pie there was no turning back. Sunday Dinner for a busy busy go on day when you are on the edge of calling out this juicy, flavourful, colorful & totally addictive, charred veggies with tender chicken bites were a saviour.It’s a simple quick nomnom one pan” type of dish where you basically place everything in the oven tray and bake. Season with olive oil, salt, Italian herb mixture, pepper and paprika/ chilli flakes.There’s just nothing better than this to call out for both on a lazy & packed day.On my plate Roasted Chicken with brussels sprouts,babycarrots, shallots & tiny potatoes, served with cilantro cumin dip.
Equipment
- Oven
Ingredients
- 1 roasting chicken
- 1 lemon
- 1 whole head of garlic
- 2 tbsp salted butter melted or oil
- italian herb mixture rub to taste
- kosher salt to taste
- pepper to taste
- paprika or chilli flakes for heat, optional
Vegetables for roast
- a large handful brussels sprout
- a small handful baby carrots
- a small handful baby potatoes
- few shallot halves
Ingredients for Dip
- 1/2 cup good unflavoured yoghurt
- 1/4 tsp cumin
- small bunch of coriander
- juice from half lemon
- 1-2 fresh green chillies for heat, optional
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Heat oven to 180 degree celsius
- Put the chicken in a large roasting tray. Rub the salt, pepper & lemon juice into the chicken, then rub in 1 tbsp of greasing and sprinkle plenty of Italian seasoning. Roast for 30minutes.
- Mix the Brussels sprouts , baby carrots, tiny potatoes and shallot halves in a bowl with the remaining oil, lemon zest and plenty of ground black pepper, and toss together well.
- Take the chicken out of the oven and put on a plate. Scatter the vegetables into the tray nestle the garlic cloves underneath, then put the chicken on top.
- Return to the oven for a further 45- 50 minutes, turning the veggies after 20 minutes until the chicken is cooked and the vegetables are tender and lightly browned. I prefer charred edges of veggies, be free to adjust the cooking time to your palate, for last 10minutes increased the temperature to 210 degree celsius.
- Take the chicken out, cover with foil and leave to rest for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile in a blender throw in yoghurt, coriander, cumin seeds, salt, lemon juice and blitz. Add some water if required, I would prefer a flowable consistency to run over my roasted chicken chunks. For heat add green chillies or hot peppers, your preference, totally optional.
- Scatter the vegetables around the chicken and serve with the dip.
Notes
Drizzle or brush the melted butter over the outside of the chicken, and season liberally with salt and pepper. The butter on the outside helps to make sure that the exterior is perfectly crispy and golden brown.. Do not skip this step as important to get crispy exterior with succulent interior. Butter or oil both are good for greasing the chicken totally your preference.
For this roast I de-skinned as changed my mind last moment from curry to roast. Squeeze the garlic out of the skins and smear over the chicken, if you like , just before serving have tried on other occasions with skinned chicken roast.
Stuff in thyme for added flavours, I have skipped it for this batch.
The melted butter slathered on the chicken may smoke in some of your ovens, just make sure your oven fan is in good working condition.
Please be free to add other veggies of your choice peppers, parsnip, squash etc.Place veggies in a large Ziploc bag.Add the olive oil to the bag, season with dressing ingredients, toss to coat.Its easy to clean up, just a handy tip.