Gorgeous Roasted Chicken A La Jamie Oliver Recipes

WHOLE ROAST CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven and a roasting tray to 220ºC/425ºF/gas 7.
• Pick and finely chop the soft herbs, halve the lemon and tear the bay leaves.
• Rub inside the chicken cavity with sea salt, then carefully grab the skin at the tip of the chicken breasts, making sure that it doesn't rip, and pull up gently. With your other hand gently separate the skin from the meat of the breast - it's normally connected by a little bit of tissuey-type stuff, and you can either leave this attached in the middle and make two little tunnels either side or you can try to cut away the middle.
• Sprinkle a little salt down the gaps that you have made, push in most of the chopped herbs and drizzle in a little oil.
• Push the lemon halves into the cavity along with the bay and rosemary sprigs, then pull the skin of the chicken breast forward so that none of the flesh is exposed, tuck the little winglets under, and tie up as firmly as possible.
• Rub a little oil all over the chicken skin, scatter over the remaining chopped herbs and season very generously with salt and black pepper. Slash each thigh about 3 or 4 times to allow the heat to penetrate directly.
• Remove the hot tray from the oven and drizzle with a little oil. Put the chicken into the tray, breast-side down and leaning to one side, then place in the oven. Roast for 5 minutes, then lean it to the other side, still breast-side down. Cook for another 5 minutes, then place the chicken on its bottom and cook for 1 further hour, or until golden and cooked through - the skin should be really crispy and the herbs will flavour the meat- this really must be the best roast chicken. Trust me - it's not fiddly, it's pukka.

GORGEOUS ROASTED CHICKEN, A LA JAMIE OLIVER

Steps:

• °Boil about a dozen potatoes. I like Yukon Golds. Throw a whole lemon into the boiling water with them. Trust me. °Put your roasting pan in a pre-heated, 400° oven. °Take out a whole roasting chicken. I prefer to have the giblets removed. °Dunk ten or twelve skewers of rosemary into the boiling water for a moment. Shake off the water, then strip the skewers of the rosemary needles. Dunking them in the boiling water releases the oils in the rosemary, yielding more taste. Don't believe me (or Jamie Oliver, who taught it to me)? Try it. °With the mortar and pestle, bash up the rosemary, a whole head of garlic, the zest of two lemons, and sea salt. Grind it all up until you have a gorgeous, green-yellow paste. Add olive oil and stir it about. Coat the chicken with this mixture. Take a whiff of this. ° Settle the chicken down into the hot roasting pan. Before you put it back in the oven, retrieve the water-engorged lemon. According to Jamie Oliver, boiling the lemon like this leaves the juices simmering inside of it. Most of us put a cold lemon in the chicken, which means the juices don't start to pervade the chicken meat until the last half hour of cooking. Putting in a hot lemon means the juices release immediately, and the heat of the lemon starts to cook the chicken immediately too. So, stuff the chicken with the hot lemon, and a few more skewers of rosemary. Put this into the oven and cook for half an hour. °After half an hour, pull out the roasting pan. Take the partially cooked chicken out of the pan and put it on the plate, temporarily. Throw the boiled potatoes onto the bottom of the roasting pan. Be sure to swirl them in the juices that have already formed. Make a divot in the pile of potatoes, then put the chicken back in it. Return the pan to the oven for an additional hour. At the end of this, you should have the juiciest, easiest roast chicken you have ever made. And the potatoes will be golden brown and soft. Tuck in.

FANTASTIC ROASTED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven and an appropriately sized roasting tray to 425 degrees F. Wash your chicken inside and out and pat dry with kitchen paper. Using your fingers, part the breast skin from the breast meat. It's important to try to push your hand gently down the breast, being careful not to rip the skin. With a peeler, remove and chop the fragrant yellow skin of the lemon, keeping the peeled lemon to one side. Chop prosciutto and add to the bowl with the lemon skin, garlic and thyme. Season, with salt and pepper and then mix it all into the butter. Push this into the space you have made between the meat and the skin -- rub and massage any that's left over in and around the bird. It's all tasty stuff. I could tell you to tie the chicken up but I've decided it's a palaver and not worth it in this case. Slash the thigh meat to allow the heat to penetrate a little more, which makes it taste better. Cut the peeled lemon in half and push it into the cavity. Then put chicken in the hot roasting tray and roast in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.
• While the chicken is cooking, parboil the potatoes in salted water for 10 minutes and drain. Cut the celeriac into irregular chunks around the same size as the potatoes. Remove the chicken from the oven, by which time the tasty butter will have melted, flavored and cooked out of the chicken into the bottom of the tray, awaiting your potatoes and celeriac. Normally I put a fork into the cavity of the chicken and lift it off of the tray for 20 seconds while I toss and coat the vegetables in the butter. Put the chicken back on top of the vegetables and cook for around 40 minutes. Leave to stand for 10 minutes. Once the meat and vegetables have been removed, a little light gravy can be made in the tray with a splash of wine and stock, a little simmering and scraping.

FANTASTIC ROASTED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven and an appropriately sized roasting pan to 425°F.
• Wash your chicken inside and out and pat dry with paper towels.
• Using your fingers, part the breast skin from the breast meat. It's important to try to push your hand gently down the breast, being careful not to rip the skin.
• With a peeler (or a zester), remove and chop the fragrant yellow skin of the lemon, keeping the peeled lemon to one side.
• Then tear up your prosciutto (or whatever ham you choose to use) and add into a bowl with the lemon skin, garlic and thyme (I have done this in my food processor before to get the ham pieces small).
• Season with salt and pepper to taste, and then mix it all into the butter.
• Push this into the space you have made between the meat and the skin - rub and massage any that's left over in and around the bird.
• Slash the thigh meat to allow the heat to penetrate a little more, which makes it taste better.
• Cut the peeled lemon in half and push it into the cavity.
• Then put your chicken in the hot roasting pan and roast in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.
• While the chicken is cooking, parboil the potatoes in salted water for 10 minutes and drain.
• Remove the chicken from the oven, by which time the tasty butter will have melted, flavored and cooked out of the chicken into the bottom of the pan, awaiting your potatoes.
• Normally I put a fork into the cavity of the chicken and lift it out of the tray for 20 seconds while I toss and coat the vegetables in the butter.
• Put the chicken back on top of the vegetables and cook for around 30-40 minutes.
• Leave to stand for 10 minutes.