The Perfect Roast Chicken
This is such a simple way to make a juicy, tender, and flavourful chicken with just a few ingredients. The trick is in the method and butterflying your chicken so that the outside gets beautifully golden and crispy while the inside stays juicy and soaks up all the flavours.
Ingredients:
1 lemon
1 carrot
2 sprigs of rosemary
2 cloves garlic
1 whole chicken
¼ cup olive oil
1 tsp flaky salt
½ tsp pepper
1 tsp cornstarch
Method:
Preheat the oven to 220 degrees Celsius (430 degrees Fahrenheit).
Wash the lemon to remove any wax, then slice it into about 6 slices and lay them together on a baking tray. Place the sprigs of rosemary and garlic cloves on top of the lemon slices.
Peel and cut your carrot into quarters, then place them on top of the lemon slices.
Butterfly your chicken by using kitchen shears to cut along both sides of the spine to remove it. Open the legs towards the side, then press down on the chicken breasts with your hands to butterfly it fully.
Place the spine on one side of the baking tray and place the butterflied chicken on top of the lemon slices.
Pat the chicken dry with a paper towel, then drizzle over the olive oil and season with salt and pepper on both sides. Rub the oil in until evenly distributed.
Bake for 40-60 minutes (depending on how large your chicken is) or until cooked through and golden on the outside.
There will be a lot of beautiful juices left in the pan, so this is perfect to make a gravy with. Mash the lemon slices with a fork to get as much of the juice out, then remove the lemon slices, rosemary, and carrots from the pan.
Pour the juices from the tray into a small pot, making sure to get all of the caramelised bits too. Add 1 tsp of cornstarch dissolved in ¼ cup water and add it to the pot.
Reduce the gravy until it is thick and coats the back of a spoon. Drizzle over the chicken when serving. Enjoy!