Who doesn't like a dinner that literally cooks itself! Here's one that's perfect for these chilly evenings we're experiencing in Perth. With a gorgeous smattering of French herby flavour this roast chicken meal will feel like a hug in a roasting tin!
INGREDIENTS FOR FOUR
4 x chicken Marylands
extra virgin olive oil
1Tbsp Herbs de Provence
Salt and black pepper
4 x medium potatoes
400gm butternut pumpkin
1 x medium brown onion
300gm beetroot
350gm carrot
1 cup frozen baby peas
COOKS NOTES
Skin on bone in chicken pieces are preferable for this dish. They offer far more flavour and juiciness than skinless boneless cuts.
Maryland cut is the connected drumstick and thigh.
Use chicken thighs (skin on, bone in) in place of Marylands.
The image shows skin-on chicken breast, which works but doesn’t give quite the juicy result compared to Marylands.
Keep an eye on chicken during initial frying to check colour development. This is an important technique to add flavour to this dish.
Herbs de Provence herb mix consists of thyme, marjoram, parsley, tarragon, lavender, celery seed and bay leaves. If you’ve ever eaten the herbed mayo at any Grill’d burger bar, it’s simply mayonnaise mixed with Herbs de Provence and allowed to infuse for a few hours. Delish!
Use a floury potato such as Royal or Imperial Blue to give a crisp result.
Replace root vegetables with your choice – parsnip, swede, turnip etc.
Roast beetroot on separate tray to avoid colour bleeding if you find this upsetting.
Swap peas out for any other green vegetable, broccolini, beans or snow peas for example.
METHOD
- Place salted water in saucepan on stove to heat to par-boil potatoes.
- Pre-heat oven to 200°C. Place empty large baking tray in oven to heat.
- Place large frying pan on medium heat while preparing chicken. Pat chicken pieces dry with paper towel and rub with little olive oil. Season Marylands with salt, then Herbs de Provence. Add a tablespoon or little less olive oil to hot frying pan and swirl to coat base. Place chicken in pan, skin side down. Fry for 3 to 4 minutes and turn over when skin has turned a burnished gold colour. Cook for a further minute or so and remove from heat.
- While chicken is cooking, cut unpeeled potatoes into 3cm chunks and add to boiling water. Place lid on and heat to high and time 5 minutes from when water comes back to the boil. Check potatoes are par-boiled by inserting the tip of a paring knife, only the first few millimetres of potato need to be soft. Drain, replace in saucepan with lid on. Give saucepan a shake to fluff up the exterior of the potatoes.
- Prepare other root vegetables by peeling and chopping into 2-3cm chunks. Peel onion, halve and thickly slice from top to tail. Toss all prepared vegetables in about 1½ tablespoons olive oil with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Add a tablespoon of olive oil to the hot tin in the oven. Toss in cooked potatoes and then add the remainder of the prepared vegetables. Spread out to a single layer and roast for 12 minutes.
- Turn oven to 180°C and nestle chicken pieces in between the vegetables. Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, until vegetables are cooked and chicken juices are running clear.
- Cook peas for a couple of minutes in salted boiling water and scatter over other components in baking tray.
- Serve.
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