Buttery and Herby Roast Chicken with a Simple Chicken Gravy

Enjoy this recipe to make a buttery, herby, crispy and succulent chicken with a simple, tasty chicken gravy.

Approx. time to prep the chicken: 20 minutes

Approx. time to cook the buttery, herby chicken: 1hr 15 minutes

Approx. time to make the simple chicken gravy: 20-25 minutes

Ingredients

For the herby buttery chicken

-1 medium chicken

-75g unsalted butter

-A handful of rosemary sprigs

-A handful of thyme sprigs

-Handful of parsley

-Salt and Pepper

-Olive oil

For the chicken gravy

-Vegetables of choice-(I used a couple of chopped carrots, a couple of chopped parsnips and 2 large red onions quartered)

-1 large garlic clove

-Coarse cracked black pepper or alternatively any ground pepper to hand

-1 tbsp plain flour

-1 tbsp cranberry sauce

-400ml water

-Salt (to taste)

Method

For the herby, buttered chicken

-Preheat the oven to 190 degrees Celsius/Gas 5.

-Take a couple of sprigs of rosemary and a couple of sprigs of thyme and remove the leaves from the stems. Finely chop the rosemary and thyme along with a handful portion of parsley. Mix with 75g unsalted butter along with salt and pepper.

-Spread out evenly the herby butter under the skin of the chicken. This will create a beautiful succulent and flavourful chicken breast whilst also helping to crisp the skin of the chicken as it cooks.

-Take a couple more sprigs of rosemary and thyme and stuff in the body of the chicken.

-Using string, tie up the legs together at the opening of the chicken to prevent the juices of the chicken or the herbs from falling out whilst cooking.

-To ensure a crispy skin as the chicken cooks, drizzle over some olive oil and spread evenly over the chicken breast and legs.

-Line a deep roasting tray or dutch oven with an assortment of vegetables of your choice. Using the back of a blade flatten a garlic clove and add. Sprinkle over some cracked black pepper.

-Place a metal rack over the tray of vegetables and put the prepared chicken on top of the rack. As the chicken cooks any juices released will drip down into the tray of vegetables adding lots of flavour that will become the base of the chicken gravy.

-Place the chicken and veg in the oven for 1 hr 15 minutes.

For the simple chicken gravy

-Once the chicken has cooked and is left to rest, you should be left with a tray of cooked vegetables with liquid caught from the chicken as it has cooked.

-Add a tbsp of plain flour to the liquid and using a whisk build a roux.

-Pour in 200ml water and then using a hand blender blend the vegetables with the gravy liquid.

-Add an additional 200ml water to thin out the gravy.

-Add 1 tbsp cranberry sauce and season with plenty of salt and pepper to taste. Whisk.

-If the gravy is not as smooth as preferred pour into a strainer over a jug.

-Enjoy.