1 Large Organic Chicken (1.7kg)
2 Medium Carrots
2 Sweet Potatoes
2 Potatoes
2 Parsnips
2 Red Onions
6 Garlic Cloves
3tbps Olive Oil
2 Bay Leaves
6 Parsley Springs
1 Lemon
Ground Black Pepper
Salt (optional)
300g Broccoli
Pre-heat your oven to 190C and line a roasting tray with backing parchment.
Sit the chicken on the lined baking tray and drizzle with a little olive oil and a good squeeze of lemon. Grind some black pepper (and salt if using) onto it. Stuff the squeezed ½ lemon cut in quarters, 2 garlic cloves and herbs inside the cavity.
Peel the carrots and parsnips and scrub the potatoes and sweet potatoes thoroughly but leave the skin on. Chop them all in chunks of aprox. 3cm. Peel and quarter the onions. Smash the rest of the garlic cloves with the side of knife but leave the skin on. Scatter around the chicken, add a little more olive oil, salt and pepper, give the veggies a good mix and stick the tray in the hot ovem
After an hour, turn the chicken breast-side down and give the vegetables a good shake. If preparing the chicken and vegetables ahead of time, you can keep the chicken well covered with a damp tea towel and the vegetables well covered with water, in the fridge. Remember to drain the vegetables well before adding to the chicken when you are ready to cook them.
After another 30min, check the chicken by inserting a sharp knife between the tight and the breast. If the juices run clear the bird is ready.
Transfer the chicken to a carving board and let rest, covered with baking parchment, for 15 min, before carving. Keep the veggie warm.
While the chicken is resting, deglaze the pan with a little red wine and boil the gravy down for a few minutes. Then transfer to a gravy jar that separates fat from juices and discard the fat.
Serve the chicken, carved with the roasted vegetables, the gravy and some steamed broccoli.
Chicken contains PROTEIN to help your body heal and grow and it is quite low in saturated fat if you avoid the skin.
Carrots, parsnips, onions and potatoes with the skin on are high in FIBRE that helps intestinal health & transit fatty acids. Carrots and sweet potatoes contain good levels of BETA-CAROTENE, an antioxidant responsible for their bright orange colour that the body can transform in VITAMIN A. VITAMIN A is fundamental to maintain good vision in poor lighting conditions as well as keeping healthy skin and act as anti-oxidant to protects our bodies from the damage generated by free-radicals.
Potatoes and sweet potatoes are high in POTASSIUM to help maintain healthy blood pressure. Onions are high in QUERCETIN, which research shows has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties and may help fight certain cancers. Onions are also rich in PRE-BIOTICS, which feed the good bacteria in our gut.
Parsley contains VITAMIN C, an antioxidant which also helps support the immune system, VITAMIN K, which promotes blood coagulation.
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