A classic recipe from Diana Henry, who in turn attributes it to Marcella Hazan. It could not be any more simpler. This is no-brainer food, with the bonus of seeing the chicken, lemons and seasoning transform into a flavor bomb.
INGREDIENTS
2kg good-quality, oven-ready chicken
2 small unwaxed lemons
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 180°C
Remove excess fat from around the opening to the cavity of the chicken. Season well inside. Dry the skin of the chicken with paper towels to prevent the skin on the breast sticking to the roasting tin.
Roll the lemons under your palm on the work surface to soften them (I then bash them with a rolling pin, but not so hard that they burst). Prick each one all over with a skewer. Put these inside the bird and close the cavity using cocktail sticks.
Tie the legs together, but not tightly. This will stop them widening and splitting the skin as the bird cooks. Season all over the outside of the chicken.
Put the bird into a roasting tin or ovenproof dish, breast-side down, where it can lie without too much room round it (otherwise the juices just evaporate and burn). Roast for 30 minutes, then turn the bird over, breast uppermost.
Roast for another 30 minutes then turn the heat up to 200°C and roast for another 15 minutes. The skin should be puffed and golden and the lemons should have made lovely cooking juices.
Pierce the bird between the leg and body – the juices should run clear, with no traces of pink. Serve the chicken whole, carving at the table, and spooning the lemony cooking juices over each helping.
Original Recipe Diana Henry “How to eat a peach”
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