Читать книгу The Vicar’s Wife’s Cook Book - Elisa Beynon - Страница 9

1 organic or free-range chicken, about 1.5kg

1 lemon

2 tablespoons lemon oil (or ordinary olive oil if you don’t have any)

salt and pepper

8 garlic cloves, peeled but left whole

120ml white wine

Preheat the oven to 200°C/Gas Mark 6. Take your bird, stuff 2 halves of a lemon up its bottom, and anoint its skin with 2 tablespoons of lemon oil and lots of salt and pepper. Pop it into a roasting tin, tummy-side down (that is, breast-side down). I like to start the bird off in this position as I am fanatical about the breast being as moist as possible, and laying the chicken this way down encourages the juices to run down into it. You will need to cook the chicken for around 20 minutes per 500g, plus 30 minutes. Do try and baste it as and when you remember, too. About halfway through the cooking time, turn the chicken over so it is tummy-side up.

Meanwhile, take the garlic, put it in a pan of boiling water and let it bubble away for about 10 minutes or until soft. Drain, reserving the cooking water to make the sauce, and set aside. Add the garlic to the roasting tin with the chicken about 20 minutes before it comes out of the oven. When the chicken is done, lift it onto a big platter, cover it with foil, and put it somewhere warm to rest.

For the light sauce, put the roasting tin on top of the stove and heat it until the meat juices that are left in it bubble frenetically, and scrape up any sticky bits stuck to the bottom with a wooden spoon. Crush most of the soft garlic down into the juices and add the white wine and about 120ml of the reserved vegetable/garlic water. Let it bubble away until it is reduced and well flavoured and then add salt and pepper to taste. Keep warm once it’s ready.