ROAST CHICKEN AND BLACK BARLEY SALAD

A roast chicken is by far my favourite dish to cook at home. Here, I’ve piled it on a bed of dressed black barley and added cos leaves, toasted hazelnuts, sprigs of dill and more – brilliant!

Preparation time 20 mins plus 30 mins resting

Cooking time 1 hour 10 mins Serves 8

1.6kg organic chicken

2 handfuls mixed herbs of choice (we used tarragon, parsley and chervil)

1 lemon, halved

30g unsalted butter, plus

extra 120g, softened Sea-salt flakes and freshly ground

black pepper, to season Extra virgin olive oil, to

drizzle, plus extra 40ml

2 large red onions, thickly

sliced, skin on

6 cloves garlic, skin on

6 medium carrots, cut in

half lengthways

250g black barley

2 handfuls hazelnuts, toasted 40ml sherry vinegar

Baby cos lettuce leaves, or similar of choice 1/2 bunch dill, leaves picked STEP 1 Preheat oven to 200°C fan-forced (220°C conventional). Pat chicken dry inside and out with paper towel. Stuff cavity with herbs, one lemon half and butter. Gently ease extra butter between skin and flesh of breast, taking care not to break skin. Season skin and drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil.

STEP 2 Put onion slices on the base of a baking dish and sit chicken on top (the onions act as a trivet). Scatter the cloves of garlic around chicken and place carrots in dish. Drizzle carrots with a little olive oil and season. Roast chicken for 1 hour 10 minutes.

STEP 3 Meanwhile, place barley in a large saucepan of cold water. Bring to the boil on high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 20-25 minutes until barley is just tender. Drain and spoon barley onto a serving plate.

STEP 4 Remove chicken from oven and set aside to rest, loosely covered with foil, for 30 minutes. Pour pan juices into a jug. Set aside. In a medium bowl, squeeze garlic flesh from the skins. Add juice from remaining lemon half and stir through cooked onion. Slice carrots into chunks and mix through. Add half the hazelnuts.

STEP 5 Dress barley with half the pan juices and vinegar, extra olive oil and seasonings, and toss. In a separate bowl toss cos and dill together. Dress with most of the remaining pan juices and a squeeze of lemon juice.

STEP 6 Pull chicken from the bones and cut into 8-10 pieces (or shred the meat coarsely). Pile cos and dill on top of barley, followed by onions and carrots, then finish with chicken, remaining hazelnuts and a drizzle of any remaining juices.