Saturday, March 15, 2014

Weekend Cooking: Roast Chicken with Roasted Potatoes and Tomatoes

I haven't talked very much about the little chef's cooking for some time now. He has gone off cooking as much as he was, but every now and again he will surprise me and want to cook something. I guess I shouldn't really be calling him the little chef any more. He is now at least 6-8 inches taller than I am!

One thing that he does like to cook is Bill Granger's roast chicken. It is a pretty basic recipe but one that always tastes good, is really juicy and is easy in terms of preparation. He doesn't even mind the drying of the inside and outside of the chicken which kind of surprised me the first couple of times. The other thing is that the recipe is easily adaptable. The recipe specifies to use oregano but I tend to use whatever herbs I have available. For example, this week I used sage and previously I have used other herbs. One day I will do the potatoes and tomatoes the way it specifies.

I also tend to buy a bigger chicken than that specified and then we have plenty of leftovers. This week I ended up making an all-in-one quiche, which I think we will probably be eating for a few days yet!

I did have to laugh at the boy though. He did all the preparation and was doing all the checking so I only had to go in to chop up the chicken when it was ready to serve. I kept on asking if the skin was crisping up and he was very pleased that it was. Only problem was that he had the chicken upside down n the so the skin on the back was very crispy but not so much on the top! He had also sprinkled sage around the potatoes. When I asked him why he just said to infuse some flavour into the potatoes. I think we might have been watching too much food TV!

Today I was talking to a friend and she talked about being impressed by the little chef cooking because her son, who is the same age, can't even cook frozen pizza! I volunteered to send the little chef around to cook for them.

Roasted Chicken with Roasted Potatoes and Tomatoes

Chicken

1 lemon, rinsed and dried
1.5 kg (3lb 5oz) free-range chicken, rinsed and dried
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
fresh sprigs of oregano
lemon halves for serving
fresh bay leaves for serving

Preheat the oven to 220C (425F/Gas 7). Roll the lemon over a hard surface, pressing down on it, then prick it all over with a fork or skewer.

Season the chicken inside and out with the salt and pepper. Place the lemon and oregano in the cavity, then truss the chicken using kitchen string. (I actually never do the trussing!)

Place the chicken with the breast side up in a baking dish and roast for 15 minutes. Pop the potatoes in the oven. Reduce the oven temperature to 200C (400F/Gas 6) and cook for another hour, or until the juices running from the chicken re clear. Allow the chicken to rest for 10 minutes before carving. Serve, garnished with bay leave and lemon halves, with the roasted potatoes

Potatoes and Tomatoes

1 kg (2lb 4oz) potatoes, peeled and cut into wedges
4 tomatoes, cut into wedges
1 red onion, cut into wedges
50g (1/2 cup) finely grated Parmesan
2 tablespoons olive oil
125ml (1/2 cup) chicken stock or water
2 tablespoons fresh oregano leaves


Toss everything together, then put in an ovenproof dish and bake at the same time as the chicken for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

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20 comments:

  1. I can see why the boy makes this often -- sounds really, really and oh so simple. I should send my nephews the link to this post ... maybe they'd get the hint. They *can* do frozen pizza, but that's about it.

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    1. It's a pretty simple recipe and they would get a pretty good sense of achievement when they eat something so delicious!

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  2. Roasted chicken is a favorite around here and I love to have leftovers throughout the week. The quiche looks good, too. I think it's great that your son is so handy in the kitchen!

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    1. I am trying to make him at least handy enough to be able to look after himself!

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  3. I plan on having roasted chicken today! This recipe is so simple, perfect for a budding cook.

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    1. Definitely! There are actually quite a few tasty but simple recipes in this book.

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  4. I was looking for something simple and tasty to make for dinner tonight; I think your son's chicken will be it. How nice that he cooks for you!

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    1. I hope you tried it and liked it! It is nice that he cooks for me but I would be happy if it he did it more! ;-)

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  5. Bravo on your son's cooking skills. A future chef? My 13-year old son is working on the baking a frozen pizza thing. Still a bit scared of the oven.

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    1. I have suggested that but I don't think it is something he is thinking about.

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  6. My better half is starting to get a bit cheffy too - he even starts to give me advice on things I should do differently - the effect of the combination of food tv and reading my food posts I think! Cheers

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    1. As long as he doesn't get excessively gourmet!

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  7. I laughed at your son putting the chicken in upside down. It took me the longest time to learn the right side up on a chicken.

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    1. When I posted on Facebook a friend my age said that they didn't know which way was up either. I had to tell her that if the legs are pointing up in the air then the chicken is on it's back, just like for us!

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  8. My 15 year old is also taller than me, so I guess I can't start calling him the "Little Chef." He's famous for his choc chip cookies, but if pressed can also make soup or marinara sauce.

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    1. Maybe I will work on a pasta sauce next, although he can make pomodoro
      http://www.theintrepidreader.com/2011/09/weekend-cooking-kitchen-counter-cooking.html

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  9. I always have to ask which side of the chicken goes up. I do remember reading somewhere that it cooks up moister upside-down, but isn't so attractive. Being able to cook is a good skill to have, even if it's only a few mainstays!

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    1. There's something about cooking turkey upside down too for the same reason

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  10. Lovely recipe ... Roast chicken and veggies are hard to beat. My daughter has this book ... Must see if she's left it here!

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