Pot-roasted chicken with apples and cider

Roasted (flattened) chicken with artichokes, lemon and thyme recipe

From the Telegraph
Serves 4

Ingredients
Serves four
4 artichokes or 8 tinned artichoke halves
2 lemons, halved
2 onions, thickly sliced into rings
1 whole head of garlic, unpeeled, halved horizontally
½ bunch lemon or normal thyme
½ bunch sage leaves
2 handfuls of black olives,
destoned
1 x approx 2kg/4.4lb chicken, deboned
Olive oil
300ml/10fl oz white wine
A handful of parsley leaves, roughly chopped

Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/gas 6. If using fresh artichokes, prepare them first. Have a bowl of water ready with half a lemon squeezed into it. Remove the tough outer leaves of the artichoke, then slice away the top third and lightly peel the artichoke stem. Slice in half lengthways before scooping out the hairy core. Place them in the acidulated water until ready to use.

In a large roasting tin, spread out the onions in a single layer, then dot the garlic and lemon halves around. Scatter the thyme sprigs, sage and olives over the top. Season the chicken on both sides, then place it, skin-side up, on the onions. If using fresh artichokes, distribute them around the chicken, tucking some underneath. Season them a little. Drizzle the chicken and fresh artichokes generously with olive oil and place in the oven for 25 minutes, adding the tinned artichokes (if using them instead) and pouring over the white wine for the final 10 minutes.

When the skin is golden and crisp and the juices run clear, remove the chicken from the oven. Cover and leave to rest. Remove the chicken from the pan, slice it up roughly, then return it to the roasting tin to serve it with all the other lovely ingredients and the cooking juices. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

BBQ rack of venison (lamb) with saffron and roasted peppers cous cous

From Waitrose recipes
Serves 3 or 4
Ingredients:

2 New Zealand Racks of Venison, each with 3 or 4 ribs
1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
2 tbsp olive oil
Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
200g essential Waitrose Couscous,
Large pinch saffron
1 chicken stock cube
280g jar Waitrose Cooks’ Ingredients Chargrilled Peppers in Olive Oil, drained and cut into thin strips
25g pack fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped

1 Place the venison in a large dish, add the rosemary, olive oil and lemon zest and juice and rub in well. Leave to marinate at room temperature for 15 minutes.

2 Meanwhile, place the couscous, saffron and stock cube in a heatproof bowl and add 350ml boiling water. Stir well and set aside for 5 minutes until the water is absorbed and the couscous is tender.

3 Remove the venison racks from the marinade then barbecue them over hot coals or under a preheated grill for 10–12 minutes on each side until crusty and well browned but still pink in the centre. Leave
to rest for 5 minutes before carving into cutlets.

4 Stir the peppers and parsley into the couscous. Serve with the venison.

Italian roast chicken with peppers and olives

From Nigella Lawson’s Nigellissima
Serves 4-6

Ingredients
1 x 1.5kg/3lb 5oz chicken (preferably organic)
1 unwaxed lemon, cut in half
4 sprigs rosemary
3 leeks, washed and trimmed
2 red peppers
1 orange pepper
1 yellow pepper
100g/3½oz pitted dry-packed black olives
4 tbsp olive oil
Sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper, to serve

Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6. Untruss the chicken, sit it in a roasting tin and put the lemon halves and two of the rosemary sprigs into the chicken’s cavity.
Wash and trim the leeks, cut each into three logs, then slice lengthways and add to the tin. Now remove the core and seeds of the peppers and slice them into strips, following their natural curves and ridges, and add these to the tin.

Tumble in the olives, and now pour the olive oil, mostly over the vegetables but a little over the chicken, too. Add the remaining rosemary sprigs to the vegetables, along with some sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper, to taste. Using a couple of spoons or spatulas, gently toss the vegetables about to help coat them with the oil and make sure everything’s well mixed up.

Sprinkle some sea salt flakes over the chicken and put it in the oven for about 1-1¼ hours, by which time the chicken should be cooked through, and its juices running clear when you cut into the flesh with a small sharp knife at the thickest part of the thigh joint. The vegetables should be tender by now, too, and some of the leeks will be a scorched light-brown in parts.

Remove the chicken to a carving board and, while it rests (for about 10 minutes) pop the pan of veg back in the oven, switching the oven off as you do so.

Cut the chicken up chunkily, transferring the pieces to a large warmed platter. Now take the pan back out of the oven and, with a slotted spoon or spatula, remove the vegetables to the large platter and when all is arranged to your aesthetic delight, pour over it all the bronze, highly-flavoured juices that have collected in the pan.

One pot roast pork chops with fennel and potatoes

From BBC GoodFood
Serves 4

Ingredients
2 potatoes , cut into 8 wedges
1 fennel bulb , cut into 8 wedges
1 red pepper , halved, deseeded and cut into 8 wedges
4 thyme sprigs
4 garlic cloves , unpeeled
1 tbsp sundried tomato paste
300.0ml hot chicken stock
4 bone-in pork loin chops

Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Put the potatoes, fennel, pepper, thyme and garlic in a large roasting tin. Mix together the tomato paste and stock, then pour into the pan. Tightly cover with foil and cook for 30 mins. Take out of the oven and increase the temperature to 220C/200C fan/gas 7.

Remove the foil and place the pork in the roasting tin, nestling in between the veg. Season well and return to the oven for 15-20 mins more or until golden brown and cooked through. Serve with the pan juices drizzled over.

Something really simple for a Saturday lunch. The key to the taste of this dish is the sun dried tomatoes paste. I couldn’t find any such paste so I did well the next best thing which is to get some sun dried tomatoes in olive oil and to pound it into a paste before adding it to the chicken stock.

Slow-roasted beef brisket with potatoes and onions

From The Guardian
Serves six to eight.

2kg piece boned, rolled beef brisket (fresh, not salted)
4-5 garlic cloves, bruised
Good handful of thyme sprigs
Olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1-1.25kg potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks
About 400g baby onions or shallots, outer skins removed

Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6. Put the brisket in a large roasting dish. Tuck the garlic and thyme inside and under it. Pour over two to three tablespoons of olive oil and massage into the meat, then season well. Put the meat in the oven for 20-30 minutes, then remove it. Turn down the oven to 130C/250F/gas mark 1/2 , cover the meat with foil and return to the oven for four hours.

After this time, the beef should be very tender. Baste it with its juices, add the potatoes and onions, and toss them in the fat, then turn up the heat to 170C/325F/gas mark 3 and cook, uncovered, for a further hour. Serve the beef in thick slices, with the potatoes, onions and a little of the rich cooking juices.

Leeks and fennel roasted chicken

From uktv.co.uk (Rachel Allen from Market Kitchen)
Ingredients
Serves 4

8 chicken thighs, with skin
1 large bulb fennel, sliced
12 cloves garlic, unpeeled
2 small leeks, cut into 2cm slices
16 small new potatoes, scrubbed clean
4 sprigs tarragon
75 ml olive oil

Method

1. Heat the oven to 220C/fan 200C/gas6

2. Put the chicken, fennel, garlic, leeks, potatoes and tarragon in a large bowl.

3. Pour over the olive oil and toss everything together. If the ingredients are not thoroughly coated, add a splash more.

4. Transfer everything to a roasting tin and bake in the oven for about 25 minutes until the chicken is tender and the skin crisp.

Another one of those easy one-pot dishes. Although I made it 2 pots by boiling my potatoes first. In my experience, potatoes are never properly cooked within such times, and I have also increased the time in my oven to 40 minutes to be absolutely sure that the chicken is cooked.

The skin of the chicken thighs is to die for!

And when you add the chicken and vegetables, please season it with salt and black pepper to taste. The recipe omitted this step…

Thomas Keller’s Favourite Simple Roast Chicken

Ingredients
One 2- to 3-pound farm-raised chicken
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons minced thyme (optional)
Unsalted butter
Dijon mustard

Preheat the oven to 450°F. Rinse the chicken, then dry it very well with paper towels, inside and out. The less it steams, the drier the heat, the better.

Salt and pepper the cavity, then truss the bird. Trussing is not difficult, and if you roast chicken often, it’s a good technique to feel comfortable with. When you truss a bird, the wings and legs stay close to the body; the ends of the drumsticks cover the top of the breast and keep it from drying out. Trussing helps the chicken to cook evenly, and it also makes for a more beautiful roasted bird.

Now, salt the chicken—I like to rain the salt over the bird so that it has a nice uniform coating that will result in a crisp, salty, flavorful skin (about 1 tablespoon). When it’s cooked, you should still be able to make out the salt baked onto the crisp skin. Season to taste with pepper.
Place the chicken in a sauté pan or roasting pan and, when the oven is up to temperature, put the chicken in the oven. I leave it alone—I don’t baste it, I don’t add butter; you can if you wish, but I feel this creates steam, which I don’t want. Roast it until it’s done, 50 to 60 minutes. Remove it from the oven and add the thyme, if using, to the pan. Baste the chicken with the juices and thyme and let it rest for 15 minutes on a cutting board.

Remove the twine. Separate the middle wing joint and eat that immediately. Remove the legs and thighs. I like to take off the backbone and eat one of the oysters, the two succulent morsels of meat embedded here, and give the other to the person I’m cooking with. But I take the chicken butt for myself. I could never understand why my brothers always fought over that triangular tip—until one day I got the crispy, juicy fat myself. These are the cook’s rewards. Cut the breast down the middle and serve it on the bone, with one wing joint still attached to each. The preparation is not meant to be superelegant. Slather the meat with fresh butter. Serve with mustard on the side and, if you wish, a simple green salad. You’ll start using a knife and fork, but finish with your fingers, because it’s so good.

I have been very busy for the last month or so, and so am extremely relieved that I managed to make it to Christmas. Having not done any proper cooking for a month, was really happy to do my routine steak and roast chicken combo for the holidays

This is a slightly different method of roasting chicken. It’s simple and the emphasis is on making sure that the skin is well brown and crispy with help from the layer of salt. It’s just a question of getting the timing right for the roasting; you want the skin to be crispy and the flesh of the chicken to be cooked and moist. (I think mine may have been slightly overcooked, but still moist enough not to make me feel annoyed by the overcooking!) And it was good, considering how simple the recipe is. No need for fancy stuff like chestnut stuffing. I didn’t even use any butter and mustard. Just the natural flavours of the chicken.

One-pan summer chicken

From GoodFood 101 Mediterranean dishes
Serves 2

Ingredients
2 red peppers
large handfuls of basil leaves, torn
1 plump garlic clove, sliced
2 plum tomatoes, halved
2 chicken leg quarters
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
410g can butter beans, drained and rinsed

Pre-heat the oven to 220 degrees. Cut the peppers in half lengthways and scoop out the seeds and white membrane. Try to keep the stalk attached. Stuff each pepper half with basil (but don’t use it all), the garlic and a tomato half.

Place the stuffed peppers alongside the chicken in a roasting tin. Drizzle oil over everything and season. Roast for 25-30 minutes until the chicken is golden and the peppers have softened and wrinkled. Lift out onto a plate, tipping the peppers so that the juice drains back into the roasting tin.

Place the tin over a low flame and add a little water and the beans and heat through. Stir in the remaining basil and serve with the chicken and peppers.

For a more hearty meal, add some potatoes. Peel and cut a medium potato into eight wedges and roast with the chicken and peppers.

Spinach and cream cheese-stuffed chicken

From Waitrose Recipes
Serves 4
Ingredients

100g pack Waitrose Watercress
150g Paysan Breton Luxury Cream Cheese
2 tbsp Lingham’s Chilli Sauce
Pack of 4 skin-on essential Waitrose British Chicken Boneless Breasts
2 tbsp olive oil

1. Preheat the oven to 190°C, gas mark 5. Finely chop the watercress and beat into the cream cheese with the chilli sauce and seasoning. Using a small sharp knife, cut a pocket into the side of the chicken breasts, carefully push in the cream cheese mixture and securely close with a cocktail stick.

2. Place the chicken breasts in a small roasting tin and drizzle the skin with the olive oil. Season and cook in the oven for 25-30 minutes until golden and the juices of the chicken run clear when pierced with a knife. There should be no pink meat.

3. Transfer to warmed plates, remove the cocktail stick and serve with new potatoes and a sliced tomato and red onion salad or chantenay carrots.