Our local butcher, Brady’s, stocks excellent free-range chickens which are juicier and have more flavour than most super-market offerings. Being a very cheap meat overall we think it is worth spending a bit more as the benefits far outweigh the cost difference.
We never tire of roast chicken recipes as they’re usually straight forward and provide lots of leftovers. We challenge you to resist the skin on this one!
Wine Suggestion: we felt like a red so went for the Chateau de Beauregard Fleurie as it has a lighter body and a lower acidity than a Pinot Noir which matched this dish really well. The chicken was moist, but not fatty so the medium acidity was a perfect foil and neither wine nor food overwhelmed the other.
Spiced-yoghurt Roast Chicken with Potatoes – serves 4
- 1 whole chicken, approximately 1.5kg
- salad potatoes e.g. Charlotte
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- a pinch of chilli flakes
- 2 tbsp olive oil
For the marinade:
- small chunk of ginger, finely grated
- 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
- 1 green chilli, finely chopped
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 1 lemon, zested and juiced, keep the squeezed out halves to put inside the chicken
- 100g natural yoghurt
Heat the oven to 190C/Fan 170C/Gas 5.
Mix all of the marinade ingredients together and season with some salt and pepper.
Put the chicken into a large roasting tray and rub the marinade all over the skin with your hands. Put the squeezed lemon halves inside the cavity and roast for 1 hour 30 minutes, then rest for 20 minutes under some foil before carving.
Cut the potatoes in half and toss with the cumin seeds, chilli flakes, 2 tbsp olive oil and plenty of salt and pepper. Tip into a shallow roasting tray and put in the oven above the chicken for the last 20 minutes. Turn over once during cooking and continue to cook for a further 20 minutes while the chicken is resting.
Delicious served with some coleslaw on the side.
(Original recipe from BBC Olive Magazine, December 2016.)
Jono & Jules do food & wine 
Yum!!