Phil Vickery's summer roast chicken
Phil’s giving your Sunday roast a summer makeover with his lighter, zestier version of the traditional spread. He’s in the kitchen whipping up a lemony roast chicken with spinach and beans, paired with his ultimate crispy potatoes.
Sunday roast chicken
Serves 4
Ingredients
For the chicken and vegetables:
1x 1.5kg chicken, giblets removed
Pinch of salt and pepper
2 tbsp oil
2 heads fresh garlic, cut in half horizontally
1 red pepper, chopped into small pieces
1 yellow pepper, chopped into small pieces
1 onion, chopped into small pieces
1 x 400g tin haricot beans, well drained
2x chicken stock cube
200ml boiling water
1 large bag fresh spinach
1 tbsp chicken gravy granules
Pinch of salt
Pinch of ground pepper
Juice 1 lemon
For the potatoes:
4 large baking potatoes
3 tbsp vegetable oil
Few sprigs of fresh rosemary
Pinch of salt
Pinch of pepper
Method
1. Heat the oven to 220°C, gas mark 7. Season the chicken well, inside and out with salt and pepper, place into a deep large casserole dish and drizzle with oil.
2. Place the dish uncovered into the oven and cook the chicken for 15-20 minutes to brown slightly.
3. Once the chicken is browned add the heads of garlic, peppers, onion, beans, stock cube and water to the dish and then cover with a tight fitting lid. Turn the oven down to 200°C, gas mark 6, and cook for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until the chicken is cooked.
4. Whilst the chicken is cooking, wash the potatoes well then cut them with the skin on into 2-3 cm cubes.
5. Place the potatoes into a saucepan, cover with cold water, add a pinch of salt and place on the stove. Bring to the boil and simmer until half cooked, then drain well into a colander.
6. Heat the vegetable oil in a baking tray, carefully add the drained potatoes along with the rosemary and season well with salt and pepper. Place into the oven and cook for 15-20 minutes. After 15-20 minutes, turn the potatoes and cook for a further 15 minutes until well browned and crispy.
7. Once the chicken is cooked, lift out the chicken and cover with foil and leave to rest.
8. Squeeze the cloves out of garlic heads into the stock leftover in the dish, discarding the skins and stalk. Add the spinach to the dish and simmer on the stove until the spinach has wilted.
9. Chicken the stock with a few chicken gravy granules or a little starch and water, then season well with salt and pepper and squeeze in the lemon juice. You may need to add additional water.
10. Pull the chicken into quarters and serve with the peppers, beans, spinach and roasted potatoes and pour over the gravy.