My household adores this chicken any time of year, but specially all-around Easter as it has the refined promise of sunnier spring times with the addition of the apricots. They are not at all frustrating but add a wonderful sweetness to stability out the spices – so much so that even my young young children cannot get ample. If you can, make the butter and marinate the hen a number of several hours ahead of, or even overnight. You can also roast it up right up until it is just cooked by and finish the past 10 minutes on the barbecue, if it is an exceptionally warm day – which has transpired! It is a wonderful barbecue dish. On the other hand you cook it, serve on the mattress of onions, with plenty of coriander to finish, and a lot of buttery crushed new potatoes, roasted full carrots and a peppery, lemon-dressed rocket salad.
You can ask your butcher to spatchcock the chicken. Alternatively, reduce down both aspect of the chicken’s backbone with a pair of sharp scissors and discard it. Then lay the chicken out flat like a ebook, skin side up. Press firmly on the breast bone with the palm of your hand to definitely flatten it out.
Serves 6
hen 1.8kg, spatchcocked
unsalted butter 60g, melted
olive oil 4 tbsp
garlic 3 cloves, peeled
cumin seeds 1 tsp
ground coriander 1 tsp
dried chilli flakes 1 tsp
dried apricots 50g, approximately chopped
lemon ½
coriander ½ x 20g bunch
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
onions 4, peeled
rooster stock 300ml, very hot
Acquire your rooster out of the fridge 20 minutes ahead of cooking it. Spot the melted butter in a blender or mini food items processor together with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, the peeled garlic, cumin seeds, floor coriander, dried chilli flakes, dried apricots and the juice of the lemon half. Add all the coriander stalks and half the leaves. Period generously with sea salt and freshly floor black pepper and blitz to a paste. Slash the pores and skin on the rooster thighs and rub the spiced apricot butter all above the rooster. Lower the onions into 2.5cm wedges and location in the bottom of a massive roasting tray to produce a trivet. Drizzle the onions with the remaining olive oil, then area the chicken on best.
When you are all set to cook your chicken, preheat your oven to 180C lover/gas mark 6. Pour the very hot inventory into the foundation of the tray and pop in the oven. Cook for 1 hour, then flip the oven up to 200C/gasoline mark 7 for a further more 10 minutes, to get a charming char on the pores and skin, until eventually just cooked by means of (pierce the meat in the thigh, and check that the juices run obvious. There shouldn’t be any blood). Get rid of the tray from the oven, and you can leave it to relaxation as is. But I like to pop the tray instantly on the hob for a several far more minutes, just enough to reduce the inventory a very little far more right up until somewhat thickened. Spoon the juices and onions on to a large serving platter and major with the charred chicken. Finish by around chopping and scattering over the remaining coriander.
Georgina Hayden is a prepare dinner and writer of Nistisima (Bloomsbury, £26)