The Perfect Roast Chicken

Recipe by: Sonja Elridge

Ingredients:
1 Large Free-range Chicken
Salt to taste
½ Lemon
½ onion
Garlic 1 bulb
 
For the flavoured butter
 
5T Butter, softened
1 bunch Thyme
1 bunch rosemary
1lemon, zested
1 onion
Garlic, optional
 
Sumac roasted butternut with cashews
 
1large butternut
4T extra virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2T sumac
100g cashews
1 Lemon, zested
 
Roast chicken
Remove packaging & dry bird (and cavity of liquid)a few hours before
roasting to dry in the fridge, can be done the night before. Ensures a
cracking crispy skin!
Salt the bird, you can chop herbs into whipped butter & stuff under the
breast skin
Stuff dry cavity with 1/2 lemon & onion
 
Roast bird at 180˚C fan for 1 hour, I like to put a bulb garlic, cut in
half in the tray half way through.
 
Test the bird by skewer to the bone, the liquid must run clear or cook
for a tad longer
 
For the sumac roasted butternut
 
Quarter the butternut and remove the seeds before placing in a roasting tray. Drizzle over the olive oil and season with salt, freshly ground black pepper and the sumac. Place in the oven to roast for 35 – 40 minutes. In the last 10 minutes of cooking add the cashews and allow them to toast for the last few minutes. Once the butternut is cooked and tender sprinkle over the lemon zest and serve.