Perfectly roasted Italian-inspired chicken and potatoes
A whole chicken roast and gravy is one of those meals that never seems to disappoint. Eaten throughout the year, flavours (and side dishes) can be adjusted according the to season for lighter fresh summery results or more deeply flavrousome comforting sides for colder months. This Roast Chicken with Vermouth and Oregano recipe was made with the festive season in mind, inspired by popular ingredients in Italy with a good helping of Italian vermouth (and a tipple on the side as you cook).
Roast Chicken with Vermouth and Oregano
This is a very easy one-tray bake that gets most of its flavour from overnight marinating. It’s imperative not to skip this step otherwise you’ll miss out on the magic of the dish. Below are the steps for creating this wonderful roast dinner followed by the recipe.
Marinate the chicken overnight
A simple marinade of salt, olive oil, sweet white vermouth and garlic is all that’s needed to tenderize and inject beautiful flavour into the meat. It’s best to leave the chicken overnight in the marinade for maximum results.
Vermouth chicken marinade
Rub the chicken clean of crushed garlic. If you roast the chicken with the garlic it will quickly burn leaving an unpleasant look and bitter taste. Then strain the vermouth oil through a sieve and discard the garlic.
Perfect roasted potatoes
Chop the potatoes into large chunks or thick wedges and use the strained vermouth oil to coat them for roasting. Sprinkle with salt and toss them around the pan.
One pan roast chicken and potatoes
Place your chicken into the center of the potatoes, making sure they are nestled nicely around the bird. As it roasts all the delicious juices will combine with the vermouth and oil and produce very soft-centred but crispy-outside roasted potatoes.
Let the chicken rest
Remove the potatoes from the pan, transfer to a bowl and cover with aluminum foil, keep warm in the oven. Allow the chicken to rest in the roasting tin for 20 minutes so it can release its juices.
Vermouth, lemon, mustard and oregano chicken gravy sauce
After resting, transfer the chicken to a serving plate. Add more vermouth to the roasting tray and scrape up all the chicken fat and juices. Transfer liquid to a small pan along with the chicken stock, lemon and mustard to make the sauce. finish with salt and pepper and fresh oregano.
Finishing the dish: layer potatoes around the chicken then spoon the vermouth oregano sauce evenly over the chicken and potatoes. Serve with some extra fresh oregano leaves and slices of lemon.
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Roast Chicken with Vermouth and Oregano
Perfectly roasted Italian-inspired one-tray chicken and potatoes
- Prep Time: 15 Minutes + marinating 8 hours
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 0 hours
- Yield: 4 – 6 1x
- Category: Chicken
- Method: Oven Roasting
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken
- 1 kg roasting potatoes, skin on
Chicken Marinade
- 100ml sweet vermouth
- 60ml olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed
- Sea salt flakes
Vermouth Oregano Chicken Sauce
- 150ml sweet white vermouth
- 150ml chicken stock
- 1 heaped tsp seeded or Dijon mustard
- large handful fresh oregano leaves
- Squeeze of lemon juice + lemon wedges to serve
Instructions
- Marinate the chicken: Combine vermouth, olive oil and crushed garlic. Pour and rub over the whole chicken, then season each side of the chicken with salt and let it sit in the marinade overnight or for a minimum of 8 hours. If you have time you can occasionally baste the chicken in the marinade every few hours.
- Prepare to roast: Remove the chicken from the fridge. Scrape off all the crushed garlic pieces touching the chicken skin and discard (garlic burns very quickly in the oven and will leave dark and bitter pieces if roasted from the start).
- Next, strain the left over vermouth oil from marinating and discard any extra garlic pieces. Keep aside.
- Heat oven to 200°C
- Chop the potatoes into large chunks or wedges. Transfer to a roasting tin. Pour over vermouth oil, season with sea salt flakes and toss around the pan to combine.
- Place the chicken into the middle of the roasting pan and gather potatoes around the chicken.
- Roast for 50 minutes to 1 hour depending on the size of your bird. Halfway through roasting remove the pan from the oven, toss potatoes around the pan juices and fat and continue cooking.
- When the chicken is ready, transfer the potatoes to a bowl, cover them with foil and keep warm. Let the chicken rest in the roasting tin for 20 minutes to release its juices.
- Make the vermouth oregano sauce: After resting, transfer the chicken to a serving plate. Add 150ml vermouth to the roasting tray and scrape up all the chicken fat and juices. Transfer the liquid to a small pan along with the chicken stock and mustard. Bring to a boil then turn to simmer for a few minutes. Remove from heat, squeeze in some lemon juice, sprinkle with sea salt and the remaining oregano leaves.
- Finishing the dish: Layer the warm potatoes around the chicken then spoon the vermouth oregano sauce evenly over the chicken and potatoes. Garnish with the remaining fresh oregano leaves and lemon wedges.
Keywords: best roast chicken, Italian chicken recipes, festive chicken recipes, Christmas chicken recipes
