Easter in the Southern Hemisphere signals the beginning of Autumn and that means a lovely Easter Roast Chicken full of the season’s bounty. For many people, chicken has become the protein of choice everyday and the special touch of a lovely roast is lost. In my home, we like to buy ‘happy birds’ ones that are free range, organic. These chickens are considerably more expensive than their cage farmed counterparts; but it is something I refuse to yield on.
This Easter, I’ve decided to start a little tradition of a dinner with friends. To take advantage of the long weekend and share an Easter roast chicken sounds like a lovely way of easing into the cooler months. And is there anything better than the smell of a roast chicken? The scent is homey and comforting with the promise of a delicious feast. Everyone has a favourite combination. My Canadian loves the smell of sage with pumpkin and bacon; all those traditional North American flavours. And it is a gorgeous classical combination.
I like to celebrate the season and here I’ve selected what’s ripe and great right now. Apples, baby onions with a little lemon. For those of you with access to fresh figs, toss them in at the end to go slightly jammy. Autumn at it’s finest, this is an Easter tradition I could definitely get used to.
Ingredients
- 1.5 kg free range chicken
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- Salt and pepper to season
- 3x apples or pears
- 8x baby onions, peeled
- 10 cloves garlic
- Fresh thyme
- 100gm bacon lardons
- 100ml dry white wine
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Rub your chicken all over with the olive oil and season with salt and pepper inside and out. In a baking tray, lay out your fruit, onions, garlic and scatter over the thyme and bacon lardons. Squeeze a lemon over everything and place the chicken on top. Roast for 30 minutes, add the white wine and roast for another 20 minutes.
Serve with carved pieces of chicken, a little of the vegetables and the pan juices poured over the top. A big bowl of mashed potatoes never goes astray either.
