Stupid Easy Chicken Roast Dinner
Let the oven do the work while you sip some wine.
Equipment
- Oven
- Chef's Knife
- Microplane or Cheese Grater
- Baking Sheet + tin foil (or baking mat)
- Basting Brush (optional)
- Instant Read Thermometer (optional)
- Food Processer (optional)
Ingredients
- 1 Whole Chicken (approx. 1.3 kg or ~3 lbs)
- 120 ml Vegetable Oil (4 oz)
- 15 gr Thyme (3 tbsp)
- 1 Lemon (Zest and Juice)
- 1 Preserved Lemon optional
- 8 cloves Garlic (4 cloves for marinade, 4 to roast)
- 1 kg Potatoes (2.5 lbs)
- Oregano (for the potatoes — to taste, we used 2 tbsp)
- Salt
- Pepper
Instructions
- Let's start by preheating up the oven to 200° fan and bringing a pot of water to a boil.
- To prep the potatoes: scrub them in the sink (we're gonna keep the skin on to get that crunch) and cut them into bitesized cubes (approx. 1.5 cm/0.5 in, but up to you). When the water comes to a boil, salt the water and throw the potatoes in for 7 minutes.
- While the potatoes parboil (the fancy French term for partly cooking via boiling), let's make the lemon-thyme oil for the chicken. If you have a food processer: combine the thyme leaves, lemon zest and juice, a generous bit of salt and pepper, with half the oil (60ml), 4 cloves of garlic and preserved lemon (if using) into the processer bowl. Pulse until mixed thoroughly. If you don't have a processer: mince the thyme, mince the 4 cloves of garlic (or run it over your microplane), and mince the preserved lemon (if using). Combine with oil, lemon zest and juice and salt & pepper. Whisk with a fork, quite furiously.
- Now, to baste: if you have a basting brush, cool. If not, use your hands.We want the chicken skin to be nice and crispy while maximising the lemony/thymy flavour. The best way to do this is to add most of the mixture to the meat under the skin. With the chicken's legs facing you, breast side up, the skin should be separated from the thighs, allowing you to baste the breasts and legs underneath the skin (see the rather disturbing picture). Try not to tear the skin, but don't worry if you do. Baste a bit of the skin as well, but not too much. Be sure to leave some sauce remaining, because we'll be adding more to the chicken while it cooks. Put your chicken in the centre of the baking pan (which you'll want to cover with tin foil or a baking mat). If you're using tin foil, brush some oil onto it before adding the chicken so nothing sticks.
- To return to the potatoes: after they've boiled for 7 mins, drain them and let rest for 5 mins. Here, some folks like to "fluff" them with a fork for texture, pressing down on them softly. We never bother, but feel free to experiment. Transfer to a mixing bowl and cover with remaining vegetable oil (60 ml) and a generous helping of salt. Mix together then pour them over the baking sheet around the chicken. Crush the remaining 4 cloves of garlic but leave the skin on. Scatter them around the potatoes,
- Throw it in the oven. It will cook for 50-60 mins, but you'll want to add more of the sauce to the chicken every 20 mins (on top of the skin this time, and baste it liberally). Set your timer accordingly. Now you're basically done. Go drink. At around the 50 min mark, the potatoes should be rather crispy and the chicken should have a nice brown tan. If you're using an instant read thermometer, put it in the centre of a breast. Once it gets to 70º C/ 160º F, you can pull it. But if you want to leave it in for an even crispier flavour, feel free to. One of the beautiful things about a whole chicken is that it stays quite moist even if the meat is above the ideal serving temperature. Once the roast is pulled, sprinkle some of the oregeno over the potatoes to taste. Now would be the best time to take a picture. We're personally not very good carvers, and the chicken won't look any better after you've sliced into it.