Roast ChiCken foR easteR

Ingredients:

■ 50g softened butter ■ 2 cloves garlic crushed ■ 2cm grated ginger ■ Grated zest of a lemon ■ 1 tbsp. dried tarragon (or fresh if you can get it) ■ 2kg free range chicken ■ 2 large onions thickly sliced ■ Olive oil for drizzling ■ Salt & freshly ground pepper

For the gravy: ■ 50g flour ■ 100ml white wine ■ 500ml chicken stock ■ 1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce ■ 1 tbsp. cranberry sauce ■ 1 tbsp. tarragon ■ Gravy browning (optional)

Method: 1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees/180 fan. 2. Combine butter, garlic, ginger, tarragon and lemon zest in a bowl and season well. 3. Pull back the chicken skin to make a pocket and gently push the butter mixture under the skin spreading it out into a thin layer. Then pull back the skin. 4. Put chicken into a roasting tin and scatter the onions around it. Drizzle olive oil over the chicken rub it in and season with salt and pepper 5. Roast the chicken for around 1 ½ hours 6. When ready remove from oven and cover with tin foil and let rest for 5 minutes 7. Spoon the onions into a warm serving bowl 8. To make the gravy – pour the juices from the chicken into a pan and add the flour whisking until smooth. Then gradually add the wine, stock, Worcestershire sauce, cranberry sauce, tarragon and gravy browning, if using. Whisk over a low heat for 5 minutes until thickened. 9. Check seasoning then put through a sieve into a warm jug.

Karen’s kitchen tip! If you want perfectly cooked chicken invest in a food thermometer – it really makes a difference and will ensure you have perfectly cooked chicken.