“A good roast chicken recipe is important to have in one’s repertoire,” says Ellie Bouhadana. “I think about roast chicken a lot, and I am always interested in hearing how people cook theirs – there are so many ways to go about it. It seems a simple thing to make, and some people may even silently question your choice to serve it at a dinner party at all, but don’t let that deter you. When it is done well, people will understand. Lathering anchovy butter over the entirety of the chicken is a secret chef’s seasoning that no one expects. The anchovies melt into the chicken, leaving it with a deep savouriness that penetrates the meat. The skin becomes golden brown and crisp, the flesh tender and juicy all the way through, and everyone’s lips will be wet from the complete deliciousness of it all.”
Serves 4-5
Chicken
3 thyme sprigs
50g fine salt
1.5kg whole chicken
½ lemon
6 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed with the back of a knife
extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling
Potatoes
4 Désirée potatoes
60ml extra virgin olive oil
6 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed with the back of a knife
Anchovy butter
8 anchovies, packed in olive oil
60g unsalted butter, softened
To prepare the chicken
Pick the leaves off two of the thyme sprigs, and mix them with the salt in a small bowl.
Put the chicken on a plate or in a shallow container and sprinkle with the thyme salt, patting it over the whole chicken, front and back. Leave the salted chicken uncovered in the fridge for at least 4 hours or ideally overnight.
To make the potatoes
Put the potatoes in a saucepan of salted water over a medium-high heat. Bring the water to the boil and cook until the potatoes are only just cooked through, about 20 minutes – when you insert a skewer into the flesh it should still feel slightly firm.
Drain the potatoes and cut them into rough 1.5cm chunks, then put them back in the saucepan and shake it around to roughen them up. This helps to give texture to the potato flesh, creating golden, crisp potatoes. Pour over the extra-virgin olive oil, add the smashed garlic cloves, season with a pinch of flaky salt and toss together. Set aside or put them in the fridge, until you are ready to put the chicken in the oven.
To make the anchovy butter
Roughly chop the anchovies until they are almost a paste. With a wooden spoon, mix the anchovies and the softened butter in a bowl until the anchovies are well incorporated.
To cook the chicken and serve
Take the chicken out of the fridge 30 minutes to 1 hour before you are ready to put it in the oven.
Preheat the oven to 245°C.
The chicken will have released a lot of liquid overnight, so pat the chicken completely dry using paper towels, wiping the leftover salt off the chicken as you do so. Rub the anchovy butter all over the chicken and as much as possible under the skin without tearing it. Put the chicken in a medium sized roasting tin and squeeze over the juice from the lemon half, then place it into the cavity along with the smashed garlic cloves and remaining sprig of thyme. Drizzle the chicken lightly with olive oil.
Put the chicken into the oven for 15 minutes, then take it out and baste it with the juices that have run into the tin. Add the potatoes and, when you return the tin to the oven, turn it around so that the chicken is sitting in the opposite direction to before. Turn the oven down to 220°C and cook for a further 35-45 minutes.
Take the chicken out of the oven and carve or cut the chicken or pull it apart in the roasting tin, letting the pieces mix with the buttery pan juices and tender, crisp potatoes.
Note: Désirée potatoes are a good choice for roasting and boiling because of their medium starch content, which means they won’t fall apart when you cook them using these methods. Any other all-purpose potato variety will work too.
Ellie’s Table (Hardie Grant Books, RRP $55) is out now, and is stocked, among other places, at Readings, Paperback Bookstore, Hill of Content and Books for Cooks.