One of the best things about winter cooking is how the oven fills the house not only with warmth but with deliciously tempting smells of dining delights to come.
A roast is a great way to warm house, heart and soul. And it is a great meal to share with family and friends as you can always cook up loads of extra vegetables to feed any extra mouths.
I do like a well-seasoned, roasted chicken with lashing of gravy, and it is very easy to make gravy. That is one of the reasons I like to use an oven bag as it collects all the lovely juices from the chicken. Here is a very quick and easy way to prepare a roast chicken with no stuffing but full of flavour.
Rosemary and Lemon Seasoned Chicken
1 whole chicken (free range)
Oven bag (optional)
1 onion cut into wedges
3 large sprigs of rosemary
1 lemon, cut into quarters
4 cloves garlic, cut in half
Salt and pepper
2 – 3 Tbs olive oil
1 Tbs cornflour
Check inside the chicken and remove any giblets. Give the chicken a rinse inside and out with cold water, pat dry with paper towels. Rub the olive oil all over the chicken, including the inside. Season with salt and pepper. Place two sprigs of rosemary in the bag and lay the chicken on top, breast side down. Squeeze one lemon quarter over the chicken and another inside it. Put the lemon skins inside the chicken. Put the wedges of onion, lemon and garlic inside the chicken, and any bits that don’t fit just in the bag (they’ll add flavour to the gravy). Close the bag as per instructions on the pack. Place the chicken on an oven tray and into an oven preheated to 180oC. Cook for 25 minutes per 500g plus 20 minutes (e.g. a 1.5kg chicken will need about 75 minutes), or until the juices run clear.
By cooking in an oven bag, the chicken stays wonderfully moist, even the breast, as it is cooking nicely in its own juices. However, this does mean that you won’t end up with a crispy skin. To crisp the skin, take the chicken out of the bag after reserving the juices in a pot for gravy, and return the chicken to the oven for 10-15 minutes at 220oC. Take care not to burn your lovely chicken.
To make the gravy
Bring the cooking juices to the boil in a pot and season with a little salt and pepper. Mix the cornflour with a 2 to 3 Tbs water (or white wine), pour into the gravy while stirring. You can add more cornflour, depending on how much gravy you are making and how thick you like it.
Nutrition - Registered nutritionist
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