John Torode's spring chicken
To mark the change of season, John’s in the kitchen with his one-pan winner. He’s serving up a creme-fraiche stuffed roast chicken with seasonal new potatoes. It’s super simple and delicious - the perfect Sunday lunch for spring.
One tray spring chicken
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
1 chicken, about 1.5kg Salt and pepper 300g crème fraiche ½ lemon20ml vegetable oil 500g new potatoes, peeled and parboiled200ml white wine 100g watercress200g frozen peas200g frozen soy beans3 spring onions, sliced into long pieces on the bias
Optional:1 tsp mustard, to mix into the crème fraiche
Method
1. Heat the oven to 200C.
2. Season the inside of the chicken with salt and pepper. Spoon in all of the crème fraiche, and plug the cavity with half a lemon. Rub the chicken with the oil and season well. Place it into a roasting tin.
3. Roll the potatoes in the remaining oil and scatter around the chicken. Pop the tray into the oven, and cook for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven, pour in the white wine, and return to the oven for another 40-45 minutes or until cooked through.
4. Whilst the chicken roasts, strip the watercress of the really large stems. Fill a bowl with cold water, and press the cleaned watercress down under the water, and place in the fridge. The watercress will float to the top, whilst any dirt will drop to the bottom.
5. Place the frozen veg into a large bowl and pour over boiling water to cover it. Drain and keep to one side.
6. Once the chicken is cooked, transfer the potatoes to a large serving dish. Remove the lemon, lift the chicken, carefully pouring out all of the crème fraiche back into the tray with all the cooking juices. Put the chicken aside to rest.
7. Place the tray over a low heat, and bring the liquid to the boil. Start to stir so all of the flavoursome pieces lift off the bottom of the tray and combine with sauce.
8. Add the green veg to the pan, and return to the boil. Season with a good grind of black pepper and a little salt. Pour half of the greens and gravy into a large bowl for the table.
9. Add half of the watercress to the potatoes on the platter. Carve the chicken and place all the pieces on top of the potatoes. Scatter the chicken with the remaining sauce and vegetables, and top with the rest of the watercress.