This ‘one-pot’ method of cooking a whole chicken with the vegetables means you can still have a delicious meal, without too much hassle. Vary the vegetables according to what you have available.
Ingredients
- 1.5kg free range chicken
- 50g butter, softened
- 1 heaped tsp smoked paprika
- zest of 1 lemon
- fresh thyme sprigs
- freshly ground black pepper
- 1 red pepper, deseeded and cut into wedges
- 1 yellow pepper, deseeded and cut into wedges
- 1 red onion, cut into wedges
- 350g new potatoes, halved
- 3 garlic cloves, unpeeled
- 125g chorizo, cut into chunks
- olive oil
Method
- Place the whole chicken in a large roasting tray. In a small bowl, beat together the butter, smoked paprika, lemon zest and some thyme leaves.
- Gently loosen the skin over the breast, then spread the flavoured butter evenly under the skin, saving a little to rub on the outside. Season with black pepper.
- Wrap the tray tightly with foil and roast for 45 minutes in the top oven at 200ºC.
- Meanwhile, in a large bowl, mix peppers, onions, potatoes, garlic and chorizo. Add a few sprigs of thyme and drizzle over a little olive oil. Season and mix well together.
- Remove the foil from the chicken and baste with the juices. Scatter the veggie mixture around the chicken and roast for a further 50-60 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are golden.
- Drain off the juices into a small pan and pace the foil-wrapped chicken in the bottom oven or warmer oven to keep warm. Bring the pan to the boil on the hotplate and simmer the juices until reduced to a ‘jus. Serve with the chicken and vegetables.