Timings guide to a Roast Chicken Dinner: meat and 5 veg!

Bizarrely, my latest favourite thing - despite not being a fan of celery - is to sit my chicken onto a bed of celery sticks before roasting.
I put a lemon, halved into the cavity along with a full bulb of garlic.
I rub olive oil into the chicken skin.
Then I roast, uncovered, at 200 degrees.

40 minutes before the bird is done, I baste it before adding diced par-boiled potatoes or celeriac around the bird. I swirl the chicken juice around all over the potatoes / celeriac.

If using potatoes (which are not low GI but I make an exception on Easter Sunday and Christmas Day),  only King Edwards will do. I boil them for 10 minutes first until the surface is a bit fluffy as this gives them nice crispy edges.

10 minutes later, (30 minutes before the bird is done) I add sliced fennel around the chicken and baste the whole lot again.

When everything is cooked, I remove the celeriac (or potatoes), celery and fennel, allow the chicken to rest whilst I make gravy from the juices in the roasting tin.  For the gravy, a glass of white wine and some stock give volume to the chicken juices and sticky brown bits which I am careful to scrape from the tin.

The celery tastes divine - it absorbs all of the chicken juice and is rich and delicious. The fennel tastes similar.

I usually serve with some steamed / lightly boiled carrot and broccoli and - on special occasions - a mini yorkshire pudding. It's amazing how many special occasions I have ;)

Here is a 'How To' timeline for a 1.6kg chicken to eat at 13.00h:

10.30: remove chicken from the fridge (it should be removed 30mins prior to cooking). Prepare the chicken (garlic and lemon in the cavity, olive oil on the skin). Put it in the roasting dish on top of a bed of celery (this can be 2 layers thick)

11.00: chicken in the oven at 200C

11.30 peel and dice the celeriac (or potatoes)

11.45 boil the celeriac / potatoes for 10 minutes until a bit soft. Whilst boiling, slice the fennel.

12.00 put the celeriac / potatoes in the roasting dish around the chicken and baste the chicken (spoon the juices up over the bird)

12.05 put the fennel into the roasting dish too.

12.25 peel and slice carrots and broccoli

12.35 simmer the carrots and broccoli for 10 minutes. Remove the chicken from the oven, but keep the veg in for a further 10 minutes.

12.45 I use ready made yorkshire puddings and this is when they go in the oven for 5 minutes.  Remove veg from the oven and from the roasting dish.  Make gravy.

12.50 remove yorkshire puddings from the oven and turn off the oven.

12.55 plate the food

13.00 serve


Goodbye Easter, it was fun :)

Aromatic Duck and Canellini bean (Serves: 3, Preparation time: 15 minutes, Cooking time: 40 minutes)

What I love about this dish is the distinctive flavour. So many dishes are variations on a theme - Asian spice, Italian tomato base or Curry. Welcome to something unique. It's very easy to make and I find the aromatic spices both comforting and moreish!

350g duck mini fillets

2tsp wholemeal flour

1tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp turmeric 

1/4 tsp ground coriander

pinch cinnamon 

4 cloves

2 tbsp olive oil

2 onions, sliced

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 carrot, grated

1 yellow pepper, diced

250ml stock (I use chicken stock)

100ml white wine

1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes

1 x 400g tin cannelini beans, drained

Coat the duck in the dry ingredients.

Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a pan and brown the coated duck. Set aside.

Into the duck pan, fry the onion, garlic, carrot and pepper for 5 minutes in the remaining duck fat. Scrape up the brown bits.

Add the stock, wine, tomatoes, beans and the browned duck.

Simmer for 25 minutes with the lid on.

Serve with brown rice and / or cauliflower cheese