Whilst chatting to some friends I have known since I was a wee girl, I was surprised when they declared that they couldn't cook. Thinking it was just modesty, I paid no heed until one said she was making almond cookies, and the other asked "How many almonds would you need?". Not to be outdone, the reply claimed "I don't know, I will look it up"..... When I wouldn't stop laughing and pointed out that we would probably go by weight instead of number of, utter confusion followed (for once, it was not I who were confused) and a full debate as to whether almonds were countable or otherwise for the purposes of baking ensued. Great friendships are thus wise irresistibly enduring.
In the same conversation, the almond-cookies-baker casually mentioned she did not even know how to roast a chicken because "I don't really feel like putting my hand inside a chicken's ass" (she thought you needed to stuff the chicken in order for it to be roasted). This is a literal quote unquote.
It would be unforgivably amiss of me if I did not at least try to debunk the myth of roasting chicken to my oldest friends. Here goes a step by step guide to succulent and moist roast chicken. To enduring friendships!
Recipe:
Ingredients:
- ONE whole chicken from the supermarket, with feathers and giblets removed but bones still intact. Go for a 1.2kg chicken to start to serve 2
- ONE fresh unwaxed lemon
- ONE whole bulb of garlic (not one clove, one bulb - there would be no need to count how many cloves there are in a bulb of garlic...)
- THREE sprigs of fresh thyme
- ONE tablespoon sea salt (use 1.5 tablespoons if using table salt)
- ONE tablespoon pepper (preferably freshly ground)
- ONE tablespoon olive oil
Method:
Preheat fan oven to 180 degrees Celsius (remember to do this at least ten minutes before putting chicken in). Cut lemon in half. Cut garlic bulb horizontally in half. Put chicken into roasting tray and pat dry with kitchen towel. Sprinkle dash of salt and pepper into chicken cavity. Put one half of lemon, thyme sprigs and one half of garlic bulb into cavity (yes, that would be the ass to you) but note that there really is no need to put your hand in. Put remaining garlic and lemon under the chicken so chicken is essentially balancing on them. This will allow hot air to circulate the chicken. Sprinkle remaining salt and pepper over chicken and drizzle over olive oil. Roast in oven for 40 minutes exactly. Take the chicken out and wrap very loosely with foil and let it rest for 20 minutes. Then put the chicken under the grill at 220degrees for 10 minutes for crispy chicken skin. Serve. Chicken should be just cooked, with a dash of pink. If pinkish is not desirable, increase oven time from 40 minutes to 50 minutes. Always rest chicken for at least 20 minutes.
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