One Yummy Mummy’s ‘I’m afraid of no roast’ Part 1
A roast dinner is a modern day classic, but it’s just assumed that cooking one is a god given talent!
The thoughts of having to juggle several different elements on Christmas morning can scare the bejasus out of the best of us, leaving us relying on poor old mammy again (sure she’s always done it).
If you have never cooked a roast dinner, now is the perfect time to give it your best shot.
‘I’m afraid of no Roast’ is a series where One Yummy Mummy will guide you through every step of the way.
Starting with chicken, the series will act as a foolproof guide to preparing most types of roast ahead of the big day, including beef, pork and turkey.
All cuts of meat can be bought in your local budget supermarket, so it’s also easy on the wallet.
And when you’re finished we want you to post your roast!
Take a snap, be proud, and post it on the One Yummy Mummy and Echo Facebook pages.
All that is left to do is scream out loud, ‘I’m afraid of no roast’, and get your apron on.
It’s a recipe you will use again and again (i swear)….
TIP: You only need a small saucepan for the gravy, a roasting tin and tinfoil.
Ingredients
1 large whole chicken
4 carrots (with whatever root veggies you like)
8 potatoes
1 chicken stock cube
300 mls of boiling water (around a cup full) for the gravy meat juices of the chicken
1 chicken stock cube
2 tea spoon of corn flour
1 teaspoon of water to mix with the corn flour
Olive oil in a spray bottle (if you haven’t a spray bottle just drizzle it on)
Fresh Thyme and Rosemary (it is Christmas after all)
Method
Heat your oven at 180c or gas mark 4 and boil a kettle of water.
Remove all packaging from your chicken, cut and remove the string around the bird.
Place your chicken in the centre of the roasting tin, crumble a chicken stock cube and rub it into the skin.
Put a slit at each leg like in the picture above and scatter your fresh herbsPut 300mls of boiling water into the roasting tray and cover with tin foil, trapping in all the steam.
Put it in the oven on the middle shelf, with no shelf above it, and leave for an hour to cook without touching it or checking it (I mean it, don’t look at it!!).
Peel your potatoes and carrots and whatever root veggies to roast you like, no need to chop them.
After an hour take the chicken out, drain the liquid off into a saucepan for the gravySpray the tray (not the chicken) with olive oil and add the veg and potatoesCover again with tin foil and cook for 20 minutes.
For the gravy, take off the top layer of fat of the juices with a spoon, heat the meat juices and a chicken stock cube (in a cup put two teaspoons of corn flour with one teaspoon of cold water, mix).
Add this to the juices on a medium heat, stirring to thicken (when thick leave on a low heat – stirring occasionally).
Take the bird out after 20 minutes and take the tinfoil off, spray again with olive oil and put back in the oven with no tin foil to let the skin crisp up and cook for another 20 minutes.
When the time is up, using an oven glove or tea towel, take the chicken out and leave it to rest, covered loosely with tinfoil.
Give the potatoes and veg a shake and brown for a further 15 minutes in the oven while the chicken rests.
All that is left to do now is plate up (on warm plates) and enjoy your roast dinner, with something yummy for dessert afterwards.
Check out more great recipes on OneYummyMummy.com
