Chicken traybake

These dishes from author Rosie Reynolds use shortcuts to speed up the cooking time of some comforting classics

The easiest roast chicken dinner

This is such an easy way to roast a chicken. The garlic salt rubbed on at the start really gets into the meat, acting as both seasoning and brine, keeping your bird ultra-juicy – this is a little trick I picked up from my local Portuguese restaurant. The oven should be really hot when you put your chicken in to cook so that the bird starts to cook instantly, which helps reduce the overall cooking time. Resting the chicken is essential, and will ensure your bird is really juicy. The chicken is cooked on top of the veg. The reason for this is two-fold: one, the veg is cooked in and covered with delicious chicken juices, and two, sitting the chicken on top of the veg rather than nestling it into the veg allows the heat to circulate all around the bird, ensuring an even and quick roast. Serves 4

1 garlic clove, grated

1.3kg whole chicken

8 thyme sprigs

½ lemon or tangerine

2 onions, cut into wedges

16 baby new potatoes, halved

1 small or ½ large swede, peeled and

cut into 2.5cm cubes

4 large carrots, quartered lengthways 2 tbsp butter, softened olive oil, for roasting

1 Mix 1 tbsp salt with the garlic until you have a grainy paste, then rub it over the chicken, inside and out. Stuff half of the thyme and the lemon half into the cavity. Leave at room temperature for 30 mins.

2 Meanwhile, heat the oven to 220C/ 200C fan/gas 8. Arrange the veg in a large baking tray, about 3cm deep – it should be deep enough to contain the veg but not so deep that it covers the sides of the chicken. Rub the butter over the breast of the chicken and sit it on top of the veg. Drizzle the oil over the veg, scatter with the remaining thyme, and season well. 3 Roast for 30 mins, then move the veg under the chicken about a bit, and reduce the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Roast for another 30 mins. Lift the chicken off the veg, place it on a serving dish and leave to rest in a warm spot for at least 10 mins. Give the veg another stir and return to the oven to keep warm. Carve the chicken and serve with the veg and any pan juices. You can prep the veg and keep it chilled for up to two days.

The shortcut

Cooking at a higher temperature with a shorter cooking time means that roast chicken doesn’t have to be assigned to the weekends alone. You can even have a roast chicken on a miserable Monday – imagine!