DUKKAH ROAST CHICKEN
WARM POMEGRANATE GRAVY DRESSING
SERVES 6
• 1 x 350g jar small preserved lemons
• 1 fresh red chilli
• 1 bunch rosemary (20g)
• 1 pomegranate
• olive oil
• 1 x 1.5kg free-range whole chicken
• 1 tbsp runny honey
• 3 tbsp dukkah
• red-wine vinegar
• 140g wild rocket
ON THE DAY
1 I like to time this so the chicken is coming out of the oven to rest just as my guests arrive. Preheat the oven to 180ºc. Get a roasting tray that will fit the chicken fairly snugly.
2 Halve, deseed and finely chop 4 preserved lemons and place in the tray. Roughly chop and add chilli, strip in rosemary, then halve pomegranate and squeeze all the juice through your fingers into the tray.
3 Add 1 tbsp olive oil, then the chicken. Season lightly and rub all that flavour over the bird, getting into all the nooks and crannies.
4 Pour 150ml water into the tray around the chicken and roast for 1 hour 20 mins, or until golden and cooked through, basting halfway with the tray juices.
5 Remove, cover and leave to rest 30 mins in the tray.
TO SERVE
1 Move the chicken to a serving platter, drizzle and brush with the honey, then scatter over the dukkah.
2 For the dressing, skim off and discard a spoonful of fat from the tray, then place the tray over a medium heat on the hob, add 1 tbsp red-wine vinegar and simmer until thickened, scraping up all the sticky bits and loosening with splashes of water, if needed. Pour through a sieve into a little jug. Serve with the chicken and a bowl of rocket.
VEGIE LOVE
Use 1 cauliflower (800g) instead of chicken for vegie guests – use just 2 preserved lemons in the marinade, then roast and finish it in exactly the same way as the chicken.
PRESERVE THOSE LEMONS
Preserved lemons don’t last that long once the jar’s open so what I do is pour all their liquor into a blender, deseed and add the lemons, then blitz until smooth.
Freeze in ice cube trays ready to jazz up stews, salads, couscous, rice, roasts and dressings.