Butter-roasted saffron chicken

This is from Annie Bell's 'The Country Cook' which has loads more delicious recipes in it. You can find it by clicking the link on the left - it's definitely worth investing in!

I doubled the quantities as I needed to feed 5 hungry adults and the supermarket had no big chickens, but I'm giving you Ms. Bell's original recipe. Gorgeous moist chicken meat, just lovely!

Serves 6 (according to the book, 4 according to me!)



Ingredients

A good pinch of ground saffron
1 tbsp thyme leaves
Sea salt
75g unsalted butter, softened
1x2kg chicken
Juice of 1 lemon
Cayenne pepper

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 220C/420F/Gas Mark 7.
2. Blend the ground saffron, thyme and a little salt with 50g of the butter. Starting at the neck end of the chicken, slip your fingers beneath the skin to loosen it either side of the breastbone. Spread the butter mix over the breast meat and pat the skin back into place.
3. Place the chicken in a roasting dish and spread with the remaining butter, pour over the lemon juice, season with salt and dust with the cayenne pepper.
4. Roast for about an hour, without basting, then transfer it to a plate, tipping any juices inside the chicken back into the roasting tray.
5. Pour the roasting juices into a bowl or jug and leave the chicken rest for 20 minutes.
6. Serve hot or cold, with the buttery juices spooned over for those who like them (I didn't do this, go here to see why!)

Quick-roast chicken for two

So I was flicking through a food magazine today and I saw a recipe that sounded lovely for dinner tonight, but then I read the ingredients and the list became "he doesn't eat that, he doesn't eat that, or that. Hmm, it's not really very winter seasony either. Hmm."
So I popped to the supermarket for the chicken breasts (though mine are part-boned, skin on thankyouverymuch!) and mooched around the kitchen until I'd thrown this together. I've called it a quick-roast as it's done in about an hour (less if you use skinless, boneless chicken breasts) compared to an entire roast chicken! The quantities are so easily bumped up to feed more than two, having made this once I'll now be making it again, and again, and it'll be on some of our dinner party menus for sure!
On a side note, I've used marjoram as it's a lovely light herb that goes delightfully well with chicken. I know it's not a common herb these days (not trendy enough I guess) but it's so suitable here, and sets off the vegetables perfectly too. As a member of the mint family it has a lovely sweet, delicate flavour, and works so well with roasts. If you can't find it feel free to use sage or rosemary, though they'll be much more robust so go easy with them.


Serves 2 but easily changed to feed more


Ingredients


2 carrots, quartered lengthways and cut into large chunks
2 parsnips, quartered lengthways and cut into large chunks
1 white onion, roughly chopped
4 large potatoes, peeled and chopped into large chunks
Large pinch of thyme
Large pinch of marjoram
Rapeseed oil
2 chicken breasts, part-boned, skin on
About half a cup of chicken stock and a dash of white wine or sherry


Method

1. Preheat your oven to 200C/400F/Gas Mark 6
2. Peel and chop your potatoes, carrots, parsnips and onion.
3. Oil a suitably sized roasting dish and add your vegetables. Give them a good roll around in the oil and then sprinkle over your chosen herbs.
4. Pop the vegetables in the middle of your oven for 30-35 minutes.
5. When your veggies are about 20 mins in put a frying pan over a high heat and add a little oil. Fry your chicken breasts until golden brown and starting to crisp on the outside.
6. Add the seared chicken breasts to the vegetables in the roasting dish (skin side up so it stays crispy) and place back in the oven.
7. Again, after about 20 minutes take the roasting dish out of the oven and drizzle the half cup of stock and sherry over everything. Return to the oven for another 10-15 minutes.
8. Remove from the oven and dish up!

Now, you'll have to excuse the quality of the photo, I was dying to get eating so just grabbed a quick shot on my iPhone, but you get the idea!