When Guests Get Bored

This month I have a guest chef who prepared this wonderful dish in my own kitchen. The chef is Alastair Incher and he proved to be very demanding, having three very patient and understanding sous chefs running around after him! The result was a very tasty chicken with vegetables, cooked in the juices of the chicken, and flavoured from a buttery herb mixture. With this dish, you can vary the mixture of vegetables and herbs to your own taste.

Alastair's Summer Chicken

For 6 people you will need:

1 fresh chicken, about 2 kilos
1 handful fresh parsley, finely chopped
1 handful fresh dill, finely chopped
1 lemon
8 slices salami, chopped
240g butter, softened
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
12 medium potatoes, peeled and cut in half
6 carrots, peeled and cut into large chunks
1 red pepper, washed and cut into large chunks
4 courgettes, washed and cut into large chunks
2 onions peeled and cut into large chunks
Smoked paprika
Salt and pepper

1. Heat the oven to 220ºC

2. Take the zest off the lemon, finely chop it and put into a medium sized bowl. Add the garlic, parsley, dill, salami and the melted butter. Mix thoroughly and season with salt and pepper to taste.

3. Wash the chicken inside and out and gently tease the skin away from the breast of the chicken without tearing it. Pat dry with paper towel. Put the herb mixture between the skin and the breast, using any left over to rub over the rest of the chicken.

4. Cut what is left of the lemon into four and put into the body cavity. Place the chicken onto a rack in a roasting tin, put into the oven and roast for 30 minutes.

5. Put the potatoes into a pan of salted water, bring to the boil and let them boil for five minutes. Drain the water and shake the potatoes in the pan with the lid on to roughen up the edges.

6. After the 30 minutes remove the roasting tin from the oven and put the chicken to one side draining and juices back into the roasting tin. Remove the rack.

7. Toss all the vegetables and potatoes in with the juices and sprinkle with a little paprika and salt and pepper to taste. Place the chicken on top of the vegetables, lower the oven temperature to 180°C and return the roasting tray to the oven. Cook for 1 ¼ hours or until the chicken is cooked and the vegetables roasted.

Everything is in this one dish so there is no need for accompaniments, just a cool glass of white wine.

An Australian Chardonnay is an excellent wine to accompany chicken, but, as we have so many excellent and reasonably priced choices among the Cretan wines, why look further than our own shores?

COOKING TIPS

Saving Tomato Paste

If you open a can of tomato paste and only use a small amount, here's a way to save the rest of the can so that it lasts for a long time. After using what you need for your recipe, freeze the remained in 1 tablespoon portions on a cookie sheet and put them in a plastic bag for future use.  

Διατήρηση του Τοματοπολτού

Αν ανοίξετε μια κονσέρβα ντομάτας και χρησιμοποιήσετε μόνο μια μικρή ποσότητα, υπάρχει ένας τρόπος να διατηρήσετε το υπόλοιπο έτσι ώστε να διατηρηθεί για μεγάλη χρονική περίοδο. Αφού χρησιμποιήσετε ό,τι χρειάζεστε για τη συνταγή σας, καταψύξτε το υπόλοιπο σε ποσότητες μιας κουταλιάς της σούπας σε μια σχάρα και τοποθετήστε τα σε μια πλαστική σακούλα για μελλοντική χρήση.