Roast chicken with lemon, honey, rosemary and zucchini
A recipe from the Good Food collection.
Ingredients
2 × 1.4 kg chickens
2 lemons
60g butter
3 garlic cloves, chopped
90g (¼ cup) honey
1 tbsp chopped rosemary, plus 2 rosemary sprigs
2 onions, cut into thick wedges
600g desiree or roasting potatoes, peeled and cut into 2cm chunks
2 tbsp olive oil
4 zucchini (about 500g in total), sliced 1cm thick
2 tsp plain flour
60ml (¼ cup) lemon juice
250ml (1 cup) chicken stock
Method
Step 1
Rinse the chickens inside and out and pat dry with kitchen paper. Sprinkle generously with sea salt and refrigerate for one hour.
Step 2
Preheat the oven to 180C. Finely grate the rind of the lemons, reserving the lemons. Place the grated rind in a small bowl, add the butter, garlic, honey and chopped rosemary and mix to a paste. Using your fingers, loosen the skin from the breast on each side of the chickens, to form two pockets on each chicken. Spread the butter mixture under the skin of each breast, then place the skin back over the breasts. Place 1 lemon and 1 rosemary sprig in each chicken cavity. Tie the legs together with kitchen string. Place the chickens in the centre of a large, flameproof roasting tin; arrange the onion and potato around them. Season the vegetables with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper and drizzle with the olive oil. Roast, uncovered, for 30 minutes.
Step 3
Add the zucchini to the roasting tin and roast for another 20 minutes, or until the chickens are golden brown and the juices run clear when pierced with a skewer through a thigh and leg joint. (If the skin is browning too quickly, cover the birds loosely with foil.) Remove the chicken and vegetables to a platter, reserving the pan juices. Cover with foil and keep warm.
Step 4
Place the roasting tin over medium heat. Sprinkle the flour over and stir well with a wooden spoon, scraping up any cooked-on bits. Add the lemon juice, stock and any juices from the resting chicken and cook for 1 minute. Bring to the boil and simmer, uncovered, for 2–3 minutes, or until the gravy has reduced by half and has thickened slightly.
Step 5
For the next day, remove and reserve the meat from half of one chicken to make a soup. (Alternatively, the chicken can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 2 days, but is not suitable for freezing.)
Step 6
Carve the remaining chicken, reserving the bones and carcass for the soup. Serve with the roasted vegetables, drizzled with the gravy.
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