Easy Roast Chicken and Potatoes

Roast chicken, roast potatoes and broccoli

Recently, I shared on this blog details of an Indian rogan josh spatchcock chicken served with turmeric and red onion rice recipe. It was mentioned to me by someone that they loved the idea of preparing a chicken in this way but without the spicy influences. For this reason, today I'm sharing a simple, straightforward recipe for roasted spatchcock chicken served with potatoes roasted in the chicken juices.

Potatoes are parboiled prior to being roasted

Prep time: 10 min

Cook time: 2 hours 20 min

Ready in: 2 hours 30 min

Serves: 2

Ingredients

• Baby new potatoes as required
• Salt
• 1 medium chicken
• Black pepper
• Vegetable oil
  
• 1 medium head of broccoli 

 

Chicken is spatchcocked by removing the backbone

Directions

Wash the potatoes and cut them in half but leave them unpeeled. Put them in to a pot of cold, salted water and simmer for about 15 minutes until just partly cooked. Drain and set aside to steam off, dry out and cool down. Cover until required.

Put your oven on to preheat to 200C/400F/Gas Mark 6.

Sit the chicken broad end down on a chopping board and carefully cut down either side of the backbone with a cleaver or very sharp and robust knife. Remove the bone and discard. Weigh the bird to establish cooking time of 20 minutes per pound and 20 minutes over.

Chicken fully prepared for oven roasting

Lightly oil a deep roasting tray. Season the chicken with salt and pepper on the flesh side and lay on the tray flesh side down. Season the top of the bird liberally with salt only and place the tray in to the oven for the allotted cooking period. After 20 minutes, reduce the heat to 190C/375F/Gas Mark 5.

Spatchcock roast chicken must be left to rest

Take the chicken from the oven (but don't turn the oven off) and pierce the thickest part of each thigh with a skewer to ensure the juices run clear. If not, cook for 10 more minutes before testing again. Carefully lift to a large plate, cover with foil and leave to rest.

Pour another 2 or 3 tablespoons of oil in to the hot tray and add the cooled potatoes. Turn them around carefully in the oil and roast for 20 minutes, stirring carefully again half way through.

Chop the broccoli in to even sized florets and add to a pot of simmering, salted water for 5 minutes.

Roast potatoes are drained on kitchen paper

Take the potatoes from the oven and lift to a plate covered with kitchen paper to drain. Cut the legs from the chicken and slice off the breast fillets. Drain the broccoli and serve a leg portion and breast portion of the chicken along with half the potatoes and half the broccoli per person.

Whole Roasted Chicken Leg and Roast Potatoes

Whole chicken leg of drumstick and thigh served with potatoes roasted in chicken juices

Whole chicken legs are often available to buy in packs from supermarkets, each pack usually containing four to eight legs. This can represent a very cost effective family meal and the legs are delicious cooked up in a number of ways. Consisting of both the drumstick and the thigh, the whole legs are a tasty and welcome alternative to either, offering a contrast in the two different textures of chicken meat.

Chicken legs are rubbed with olive oil and salted for roasting

Ingredients per Person

6 to 8 small new potatoes, unpeeled
1 whole chicken leg
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt
2 tbsp frozen peas

Peeling cooked potatoes for roasting

Directions

Begin by cooking the potatoes in their skins by simmering them in slightly salted water for about half an hour until just soft. Drain, return to the pot, cover and leave to cool.

Rested whole chicken leg is plated

Preheat your oven to 400F/200C. Rub the chicken legs all over with extra virgin olive oil and season with plenty of salt. Lay them on a roasting tray and bake for about forty minutes, until crisp and golden and the juices run clear when the thickest part of the thigh is pierced with a skewer.

Roasted potatoes are drained on kitchen paper

Remove the chicken legs to a plate and cover to rest. Rub the skins off the peeled potatoes and add them to the tray with the hot chicken juices. Stir them carefully around and put in to the oven for twenty minutes. Transfer to a kitchen paper covered plate to drain while you add the peas to boiling water for three minutes.

Plate the chicken leg with the potatoes alongside. Drain the peas through a colander and spoon on to the plate for service.

Roasted potatoes are plated with chicken leg