Attempt #32: Roast chicken & Pesto

If you ever come across days where you need to whip something up with common ingredients available in our kitchen, this would be one of those amazing recipes to know.

The result: Although the cooking time will take almost an hour, the preparation takes merely 10 minutes to put together. Healthy dinner for a weekday night. :)

Ingredients that you need :

·         chicken (whole or whole thigh)
·         Sea salt, Black Pepper (for seasoning)
•       1 bulb garlic, peeled and crushed
•       1 large orange
•       a few sprigs fresh thyme
•       extra virgin olive oil
•       Pesto sauce from the jar
Optional: Some freshly grated Parmesan cheese (to mix into the Pesto sauce)


Method

Preheat your oven to 200ºC/400ºF/gas 6, then stuff your chicken with the1 garlic bulb or place the garlic in between the chicken thighs and thyme. Zest the orange and then squeeze the juice of the orange over the chicken. Place the orange peel / skin in between the chicken.

Then, rub the outside of the chicken with lots of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, then rub with olive oil and roast for 1 to 1½ hours (depending on the size and weight of the chicken). To see if it's properly cooked, pierce a thigh with the tip of a knife and check that the juices run clear. If they don't, continue cooking and check again.

Scoop out a tablespoon of the Pesto sauce from the jar. Add the Parmesan and season with salt and pepper. If the pesto looks stiff, moisten it with olive oil.

Serve the chicken in portions – hot or cold – on a big plate with the pesto in a bowl next to it or over the chicken.

Attempt #26: Roast potatoes with sage and orange

Decided to make this dish to compliment the salmon in Attempt #25 for my dinner guests.

Somehow, I thought the sage and orange would add some level of ‘sexiness’ to simple roast potatoes. Plus, the photo of the dish on Jamie’s website looks mouth watering.

However, my attempt…the potatoes turned out quite dry and the tanginess of the orange didn’t seemed to come through much. Perhaps I should just leave the entire peeled fruit into the baking tray and into the oven together.

Jamie’s rendition:

 

My rendition:

 Ingredients

• 2kg King Edward potatoes, peeled and cut to the size of golf balls
• 8–9 garlic cloves, skins left on and squashed
• peel of 2 oranges, cut into long thin strips
• a large bunch of fresh sage, leaves picked
• 6 tablespoons goose fat or olive oil

method

Preheat the oven to 220ºC/425ºF/gas 7. In a large pan, parboil the potatoes in boiling, salted water for 10 minutes, then drain in a colander, shaking it to chuff up the edges of the spuds.

Heat a large roasting tray on the hob over a low heat. (You may need 2 trays.) Add the goose fat or oil and the garlic, orange peel and sage, then fry for 30 seconds. Add the spuds and toss them until well coated.

Place the tray in the oven and cook for 45 minutes or until golden and crisp.