Recipe: Quick Summer Roast Chicken

I love a good roast chicken. Coming from a family that always had a proper Sunday dinner (though at tea-time, not lunch) I’ve grown up loving roasts of all kind. Beef is my ultimate, especially when cooked pink, I love lamb, belly pork is a winner, but I really, really don’t think you can go wrong with a good roast chicken.

Good is key here. Chicken can so often be bland, dry and boring. I’ve yet to perfect my timings for a full bird, but I love roasting thighs and drumsticks as a quicker alternative – and it works out perfectly for one person too!

This chicken is flavoured delicately, so try to get the best quality meat you can afford. That said, the flavours work together to intensify the chickeniness, so it doesn’t matter too much. The flavouring is just enough to be there, to provide juices to pour over the vegetables, to add a summery touch. Everything cooks on the potatoes, so they soak up the flavours. For something I just threw together it was pretty damn delicious!

Ingredients

• Chicken thighs, two per person is good
• New potatoes (I usually do around 350g for two people)
• 2 tablespoon of olive oil (plus extra to drizzle)
• 1 tablespoon of mustard
• 1 tablespoon of white wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon of chicken gravy granules
• 1 teaspoon of Italian seasonings
• Ground black pepper

Half the new potatoes and arrange on a baking dish lightly drizzled with olive oil. Place the chicken thighs on top (skin side up)

Whisk the rest of the ingredients in a small jug or mug. Drizzle over the chicken, season with salt and place in a hot oven. Bake at 200C for 40-45 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and crispy, and the potatoes are tender. Serve with some green vegetables (a green leafy salad would also be good), with the juices spooned over.
A heavenly summer roast dinner, this is perfect for hotter days as it goes perfectly with salad, and requires very little work. One of my favorite recipes at the moment!

Are you a fan of Sunday roasts? What is your favorite roast dinner?