Marinade magic

This chicken recipe is as simple as it gets - use any herbs you like. I quite like to add some hot chilli flakes to the marinade to jazz it up.

The marinade also works well with a butterflied leg of lamb on the barbecue. Serve with a fresh cucumber and mint salsa.

Thyme, oregano and citrus chicken

1 x 1.6kg whole chicken, preferably organic

Thyme, oregano and citrus marinade

1 orange, finely grated zest, no pith

1 lime, finely grated zest, no pith

1 cup fresh orange juice

1 tbsp fresh lime juice

1/3 cup balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup olive oil

6 cloves garlic, finely chopped

3 sprigs fresh thyme leaves, chopped

2 sprigs fresh oregano leaves, chopped

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Serves 4

Mix all marinade ingredients together and season to taste.

Remove the backbone from the chicken and discard. Flip chicken over so that breast side is facing up, and press down to flatten, breaking the breast bone.

Place marinade and chicken in a large bowl and toss so that the marinade covers the chicken. Cover and refrigerate six hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 180°C. Place chicken onto an oven tray and drizzle over marinade.

Roast for about 30-40 minutes until chicken is just cooked, glazing chicken while roasting. Once cooked, remove chicken from pan and set aside to rest.

Drain off pan juices into a saucepan, skim off fat and reduce slightly until consistency of light gravy. Strain and discard solids. Serve gravy immediately with the chicken, along with some blanched green beans or roasted baby carrots.

Spicy kimchi

1/2 Chinese cabbage

2 tbsp coarse sea salt

2 tbsp caster sugar

3 cloves garlic, crushed

1 tbsp grated ginger

1 tbsp gochujang red pepper paste (available from Asian food stores) or chilli sauce

1 tbsp rice vinegar

1 tbsp Thai fish sauce

1 green spring onion, finely sliced

1 tsp sesame seeds

Cut off and discard the cabbage root. Cut cabbage lengthways into quarters then cut into 2cm-wide slices.

Toss with salt and sugar and leave overnight in the refrigerator.

Mix the garlic, ginger, gochujang or chilli sauce, rice vinegar and fish sauce in a bowl.

Drain the cabbage. Add the green onion and sesame seeds to the garlic and ginger mix. Combine with the drained cabbage and serve.

HOT TIP

• The kimchi is a sure-to-impress addition to the table. It's a great flavour burst - wonderful with any protein and a bowl of rice and steamed greens.

SOMETHING TO DRINK

Chardonnay
Neudorf is a family-owned winery from Nelson, New Zealand. The 2011 chardonnay ($37) features ripe stone fruit, citrus and vanilla spice aromas, with well-defined richness to complement the chicken.

Photography by William Meppem. Styling by Hannah Meppem. Food preparation by Kirsten Jenkins.