Citrus Roast Chicken
I remember Sunday lunch in our house, when we had roast chicken. The chicken was carved and we all got a mouthful; such was the size of our family! As I grew older, our family became smaller as my siblings married and moved away. Sunday roast chicken was still the Sunday roast, but the only difference was I got a breast all to myself.
Back then, we had roasted chicken in a traditional way, no frills, no fancy garnishes, it was just simply roasted.
In this recipe, I have added something different using citrus fruit as a zesty flavour. Citrus fruits work incredibly well and the flavours will explode in your mouth. This is a real homely chicken dish with a creative twang!
Preparation time: 10 Minutes
Cooking time: 120 Minutes
Serving Suggestions: Sunday Roast Potatoes (p222)
Ingredients
1 x 1800gr whole chicken 2 limes
1 orange
1 sprig rosemary
Salt and black pepper
Method
Serves: 4 people
50g Irish butter, softened 2 lemons
1 sprig parsley
5 tbsp. olive oil
1. Preheat the oven to 180 ̊C/350 ̊F/Gas Mark 4.
2. On a chopping board, cut the lemons, limes and orange in half
3. Stuff the inside of the chicken with some of the fruits and rub the chicken all over with the remainder of the fruits and the oil.
4. Gently lift but don’t remove the skin off the chicken breast, then using your fingers rub the fruits under the skin.
5. Place the chicken in a roasting pan and add to the tray any remaining fruit with the herbs. 6. Roast for 1.5 hours until the juices run clear when the thigh is pierced with a skewer.
7. Remove from the oven and stand for few minutes before carving
Food Photography by Anna Nowakowska