This one-pan Mediterranean roast chicken with seasonal roasted vegetables and a fresh blood orange and feta salad is flavour-packed dish that gets us feeling excited for Spring.
Serves: 5 people
How much to order: 1.2 -1.5 kg whole organic chicken
Prep time: 30 minutes Cook time: 60 minutes + 15 mins resting Total time: 105 minutes
INGREDIENTS
1 whole organic chicken
1 fennel bulb, cut in half and sliced
1 large leek, sliced into thick rounds
1 lemon, sliced into thick rounds
Half a jar of green Sicilian olives, pitted
2 bunches of Roma cherry tomatoes, vine on
3 large garlic cloves, smashed
5 sprigs fresh oregano
200ml dry white wine
100ml olive oil, plus more for drizzling
Salt and pepper
Oregano and anchovy butter
1 clove garlic, grated
Half a bunch fresh oregano leaves
2 anchovies
200g butter, room temperature
Blood orange and feta salad 1 blood orange
1 block feta
Half a cup walnuts, toasted
4 sprigs oregano leaves
1 shallot, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Half a bag fresh mixed lettuce
Half a small radicchio, chopped
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 200°C, and bring your chicken to room temperature for 30 minutes.
Make the oregano and anchovy butter by mixing all the butter ingredients in a bowl until you have a smooth paste. Using your fingers, lift the skin of the breast and gently separate it from the flesh, then slide the butter evenly under the skin on each side. It looks like a lot, but as it cooks it will help keep the chicken extra juicy and tender.
In a large baking dish, add all the vegetables, tomatoes, lemon, garlic and olives, followed by the wine, olive oil, salt and pepper.
Place the whole chicken on top, using the vegetables as a trivet. Drizzle a little olive oil over the skin, season with salt and pepper, and rub it in. Place in the oven with one side of the chicken facing the back. Cook for 30 minutes, then rotate to ensure it cooks evenly.
While the chicken cooks, make the salad. Arrange the mixed greens and radicchio on a plate. Place the whole block of feta on top and scatter over the blood orange segments, fresh herbs, shallot and walnuts. Whisk together about half a cup of reserved orange juice, olive oil, mustard and red wine vinegar. Pour over the salad just before serving, with a pinch of salt and pepper.
Once the chicken reaches 72°C, cover and rest for 10 minutes before carving. Serve with the pan juices, roasted vegetables and salad.
Serving Note: Resting the chicken lets the juices redistribute back through the meat rather than spilling out when carved. If there's plenty of liquid left in the pan, strain it into a small pot and thicken with a little cornflour to make a simple gravy.
