A Fresh Touch to Sunday Lunch
Every once in a while a recipe comes along that combines ingredients so perfectly that it creates an unforgettable symphony of taste and flavour – and this is one of those recipes. Roast Chicken with Lemon Potatoes and Salsa Verde – beautiful Italian flavours with a simple one-tray oven cooking technique that anyone can make.
How to Make The Perfect Roast Chicken
The answer is to always butterfly the chicken. Butterflying (spatchcocking) a chicken is a method in which the backbone of the chicken is removed, allowing you to lay the bird flat. This technique reduces cooking time and allows the heat to circulate more evenly through and around the meat. Learn how to butterfly a chicken with this video:
Don’t Add Oil to The Chicken or The Pan
No oil is needed to get the skin nice and crispy – just rub it with salt and allow the natural chicken fat to release and crisp up on its own. This also means that the potatoes soak up all the pure chicken fat and flavour without swimming in extra oil.
Lemon Mustard Potato Marinade
A marinade of mustard, garlic, oregano and lemon adds a third dimension of flavour to these wonderfully soft but crispy chicken fat roast potatoes. Cooked in the oven just long enough to caramelise and brown on the outside, the potatoes are deliciously chewy.
The Best Italian Salsa Verde Recipe
This extremely versatile salsa verde recipe can be used to dress up endless ingredients to create instantly impressive dishes. Easy to make and full of bright green herbs and tangy salty flavours from capers, anchovies and lemon juice, it’s a sauce to fall in love with.
Recipe: Roast Chicken with Lemon Potatoes and Salsa Verde
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Roast Chicken with Lemon Potatoes and Salsa Verde
Ingredients
Roast Chicken
- 1 large chicken
- 600g small potatoes
- Sea salt flakes, preferrably Maldon
Lemon Mustard Potato Marinade
- 1 tsp garlic powder, or 1 fresh garlic clove, crushed
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- Salt and pepper
Salsa Verde
- 1 x The Best Italian Salsa Verde, recipe here
- Chill sauce to serve (optional)
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 200°C
- To butterfly (spatchcock) the chicken, place it breast-side down on a cutting board and use sharp kitchen shears to cut along both sides of the backbone, removing it completely. Flip the chicken over and press down firmly on the breastbone to flatten it for even cooking
- Season each side of chicken with salt then transfer to an oven roasting tray, laying flat skin side up. Set a timer to 30 minutes and start roasting.
- Prepare the salsa verde: recipe and instructions here.
- Combine all ingredients for the potato marinade in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Peel the potatoes and cut them in half lengthways. After the chicken has roasted for 30 minutes, remove the tray from the oven and arrange the potatoes around the chicken, rolling them in the rendered chicken fat to coat. Return the tray to the oven and continue roasting for an additional 15–20 minutes, or until the chicken is fully cooked through
- Remove the tray again from the oven, transfer the chicken to a large plate and allow it to rest whilst you continue to cook the potatoes.
- Toss the potatoes around the roasting pan to coat them once more in the chicken fat. Season with sea salt flakes, then spoon the lemon-mustard marinade into the pan. Toss again to ensure each potato is evenly coated. Return to the oven for a final 10 minutes, or until the potatoes are golden, crispy on the outside, and tender all the way through
- Carve the chicken into 6 or 8 pieces. Serve with the lemon-mustard potatoes, the salsa verde, and a side of chili sauce if you like a bit of heat. A fresh crisp freen salad would also pair nicely.