There is something very special about the smell of a roast chicken. The aromas permeate the house with the scent of homey comfort. I find this to be a very simple meal to create as the oven takes the grunt of the workload. Here, the chicken is nestled on a bed of fennel, onion and apple slices. These aromatics provide their beautiful flavour, then finish the chicken with a zap of heat for the golden skin. I love tarragon with chicken, but do be careful with it. Too much can lead to a grassy aroma, reminscent of
The cider provides moisture and flavour to this dish. The aim here is for a dry cider, rather than a sugar sweet one. Peckhams make some beautiful apple ciders, as does Zeffer. So please choose carefully.
As with all meat and poultry, use the best quality of free range chicken you can find. It will repay you ten fold in the final product. I use Turks chickens, which are free range, corn fed and available at most New World and Pak’n Save supermarkets. For more information, please visit their website.
Ingredients
- 150gm bacon lardons
- 1x brown onion, sliced
- 1x fennel bulb, sliced reserve the tops as garnish
- 300gm potatoes, cut into wedges
- 1.4kg whole chicken, free range
- 6 cloves garlic, peeled
- 1x lemon
- 300ml dry cider
- 1 tsp dried tarragon
- 2x apples, cored and cut into wedges
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. In a pan, heat a little olive oil and fry the bacon lardons until lightly golden. Remove from the pan and keep aside for later. Add the onion and fennel slices to the pan and slowly saute for 10 minutes, until translucent. Combine with the bacon lardons and use this mixture to cover the base of an oven dish.
Parboil the potatoes for 10 minutes until mostly cooked, but not soft. Drain and keep aside for later. Meanwhile, stuff the chicken with the lemon wedges and garlic cloves and then place onto of the bacon and onion mixture. Pour the cider around the chicken carefully, sprinkle with tarragon, salt and pepper. Cover tightly with tin foil and roast for 45 minutes.
Remove the tinfoil and lightly baste the chicken with the cider juices. Add the apple slices and parboiled potatoes and return to the oven. Cook for a further 30 minutes or until the chicken is golden and the juices run clear. The potatoes should be crisp on the outside and fluffy in the middle.
Serve, carved up and with a green salad on the side.
