Overview:
By: Antonia
Meal Type: Dinner
Cook time: 1 hour 30 mins
Servings: 4
A delicious change from a traditional roast with the bonus that everything is cooked in the same tin. The vegetables take on all the delicious flavours from the chicken. Perfect ‘hands-off’ cooking and minimal washing up!
Ingredients:
- Large chicken (approx.1.8kg/4lb.)
- 1 lemon, halved
- Sprig of thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tsp. mixed dried herbs
- 1 tsp. smoked paprika
- Olive oil
- 2 red onions, cut into wedges
- 700g/1lb 8oz. new potatoes, halved
- 8 unpeeled garlic cloves
- 1 aubergine
- 2 medium courgettes
- 225g/8 oz. cherry tomatoes
You may need...
Method:
- Un-truss the chicken and sit in a large roasting tin, lined with a non-stick silicone liner. Stuff the cavity with the lemon halves, thyme and bay leaves. Mix the dried herbs and smoked paprika with 2 tbsp. olive oil and brush this all over the skin of the chicken. Season with salt and pepper. Slide onto the lowest set of runners in the roasting oven and cook for 10 minutes.
- Place the onion wedges and halved potatoes into a large bowl and drizzle with olive oil. Stir to coast and season well with salt and pepper. Tip these into the tray, around the chicken, and roast for a further 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, prepare the other vegetables. Chop the aubergines and courgettes into thick chunks (the courgettes cook slightly faster so these should be a little larger than the aubergine chunks). Slice the peppers into wide wedges. Add to the bowl with the unpeeled garlic cloves, drizzle with oil and season – stir to coat.
- Remove the roasting tin from the oven and baste the chicken, potatoes and onions with any juices that have collected in the tin. Add the aubergine, courgettes, peppers and garlic to the pan and return to the oven for a final 40 minutes, adding the tomatoes for the final 10 minutes of cooking time. The chicken is cooked when the juices run clear when the thickest part is pierced.
- Serve the chicken alongside the vegetables and juices.
Aga Range Cooker tips:
The Aga range cooker roasts meat to perfection – the radiant heat locks in moisture so meat remains gloriously succulent and juicy.
The large size roasting tins that fit on the runners are ideal for this dish – their size means you can pack plenty of vegetables into the tin. You could even fit two smaller chickens if catering for more and simply do a few extra vegetables in another tin. If you need more space, remember the top of the baking oven is hot enough for roasting too – it will take a little longer, but useful to know when cooking for a crowd!
If you find the chicken isn’t quite cooked but the vegetables are ready, simply remove them with a slotted spoon and keep them warm in a dish in the simmering oven.