Citrus and herb roast chicken with crispy onion pilaf and charred sprouts recipe
This warming roast chicken is packed with delicious citrussy flavours. Serve with a fragrant pilaf, studded with chestnuts and crispy sage, and charred sprouts.
See method- Serves 6
- 30 mins to prepare and 1 hour 20 mins to cook
- 902 calories / serving
- Gluten-free
Ingredients
For the pilaf
- 2 large onions, sliced into ½cm wedges
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 clove garlic, peeled and sliced
- 200g basmati rice, rinsed
- 60g green olives with herbs
- 1 lemon, rind peeled into 4 strips with a potato peeler, and the juice
- 500ml chicken stock
- 30g butter
- 20g fresh sage, leaves removed
- 100g Merchant Gourmet chestnuts
For the chicken
- 2 oranges, sliced into 2cm slices
- 2 clementines, cut in half
- 1 whole free-range chicken (about 1.6kg)
- 2 lemons, cut in half
- 4 parsnips, peeled and sliced into long, 2cm thick strips
For the charred sprouts
- 100g pancetta lardons, or bacon lardons
- 350g Brussels sprouts, halved
- 3 tbsp olive oil
Each serving contains
- Energy
- 3770kJ 902.0kcal
- Fat
- 52g
- Saturates
- 14g
- Salt
- 2.5g
- Sugars
- 14g
of the Reference intake
Carbohydrate 56.1gProtein 54.7gFibre 10.1g
Method
- Preheat the oven to gas 5, 200°C, fan 180°C.
- Place the slices of orange and clementine in a large roasting tray, then nestle the chicken on top; tuck in the parsnips around the sides. Place two halves of the lemon in the cavity, along with a few sage leaves. Season well with salt and pepper and roast in the hot oven according to pack instructions until golden and cooked through.
- While the chicken is cooking, prepare the pilaf and sprouts. For the pilaf (about 15 mins before the chicken is ready): in a large saucepan, fry the onions in the olive oil until caramelised and slightly charred on the edges, over a high heat. Remove a spoonful of onions to garnish with later.
- Add the spices and garlic to the pan and cook for another minute or two. Stir in the rice, olives, lemon rind and stock. Cover and cook for 10-12 mins.
- Melt the butter in a small frying pan or saucepan, and add the sage leaves. Cook for 2-3 mins until slightly translucent – the leaves will become crispy. Spoon out and place on kitchen paper to drain.
- For the sprouts: fry the lardons, remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Over a high heat, fry the Brussels in the oil for 2-3 mins per side until just charred and cooked through. Spoon onto a platter and top with the crispy lardons.
- To finish the pilaf, stir through the chestnuts and some of the sage leaves and reserved crispy onions. Sprinkle the rest of the sage leaves over the chicken and pilaf.
- Serve the roast chicken with the sprouts and pilaf.
- See more Chicken recipes
