Roast chicken spaghetti

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Change the veg if you prefer – peas, steamed leeks and shredded cabbage also go well. Cook as much spaghetti as you need – children under 11 only need 40g dried pasta each and adults 75g, though teenagers and very active children may eat a little more.

SERVES 6 PREP 5 mins COOK 2 hrs EASY

1 medium chicken (about 1.5kg), any trussing string removed 1 lemon, halved

1 large shallot, halved

2 tbsp olive oil, plus extra to serve 6 evenly sized medium carrots, peeled, trimmed and halved down the centre

1 chicken stock pot 300-400g good-quality spaghetti (like De Cecco) 200-300g Tenderstem broccoli, steamed

1 Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/ gas 4. Stuff the chicken cavity with the lemon and shallot halves and rub half the oil on the chicken skin – season if you like. Arrange the carrots in the middle of a roasting tin and drizzle over the rest of the oil. Put the chicken on top and season. Roast for 11/2 hrs until the chicken skin is crisp and the leg feels loose when you wiggle it. If the leg doesn’t feel loose, then cook for a further 15 mins or until it does – it needs to be very tender.

2 Lift the chicken off the carrots, pour any liquid that has collected inside into the tin and set the chicken aside to rest. Cook the pasta following pack instructions, but for 1 min less than the recommended time. Put the roasting tin on a medium heat, add 150ml pasta water (drain the rest) and the stock pot and bubble everything together to make a gravy. 3 Tip the pasta onto a large serving dish and drizzle over a little oil. Cut the chicken legs off and divide them in two, and carve the breast into thick slices. Arrange this over the spaghetti and pour over any juices. Slice the carrots and pile them up at one end, and pile the broccoli at the other. Pour the gravy over the pasta, or serve it in a jug. You’ll need tongs and a large spoon to serve.

GOOD TO KNOW healthy • fibre • 2 of 5-a-day PER SERVING 567 kcals • fat 20g • saturates 5g • carbs 53g • sugars 8g • fibre 7g • protein 40g • salt 1.0g