Perfectly Easy Baked Chicken
I love the comfort-factor of a roast chicken: the smells of my kitchen as a kid, with mum making the stuffing, the gravy, and a myriad of roast veg. But, I don’t always have the time or the energy to make the old-fashioned baked dinners of my childhood. This is a faster, healthier, and very delicious way of having the comforts of home despite our modern schedule. And the best part? It’s easy on the washing up as you only use one pan!
Ingredients:
Chicken
- 2kg whole spatchcocked free range vegetarian fed chicken (you can grab this in many supermarkets, or you can ask your butcher to spatchcock a chicken for you)
- Sprinkle of sea salt
- ½ tsp lemon pepper
Herb Butter
- 4 tbs of softened grass-fed butter (or dairy-free butter alternative of your choice)
- 1 tsp of lemon pepper
- ½ cup of chopped parsley
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 minced cloves of garlic (or more if you like!)
- 1 tbsp of olive or avocado oil
Veggies
You can use whatever you like here, but these are my favourites as I’m introducing lots of colour to the meal:
- 250g of brussel sprouts (halved if they’re big)
- 4 medium carrots halved and then halved again lengthways (or 6 of the skinny carrots, green tops trimmed)
- 500g of new potatoes or 500 grams of red potatoes cut into quarters
- 1 sweet potato cut into chunks (slightly larger than your potato pieces)
- 1 onion, quartered
- Pinch of dried rosemary or 4 sprigs of fresh rosemary (optional)
Method
- Pre-heat the oven to 220C and take your chicken out of the fridge. This recipe works best if your chicken has had around 20 minutes on the bench before it goes in the oven.
- In a small bowl combine all the ingredients for the herbed butter and mix well.
- Lift up the skin of the chicken exposing the breast. Try not to tear the skin. Take two thirds of the butter and spread it under the skin.
- Take the last third of the butter and spread it over the top of the chicken.
- Lay the chicken in a roasting pan and sprinkle your veg around it. Drizzle everything with olive oil, and give the chicken and veggies a good sprinkle of salt.
- You may also want to add a bit of rosemary to your potatoes and a little extra lemon pepper to the outside of your chicken.
- Put your pan in the oven for about 45 – 60 minutes (or the internal temp is about 72C). The skin should be crispy and the juices from the legs should run clear.
- Let your chicken rest for about 10 minutes.
- Carve and serve with veggies and pan juices. You can also add some lemon juice if you want a little more acid and lemony flavour.
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