This is a delightfully simple and delicious way to roast a chicken. It doesn’t require too much in the way of ingredients or effort because it just works, so it’s a great go-to for Sundays, celebrations or anytime you love to serve a roast chicken.
Red skinned potatoes aren’t totally mandatory, but I highly suggest trying them because they’re delicious. The subtle sweetness and almost buttery flavour of red potatoes is a lovely way to switch up your potato game and they roast so beautifully! That said, you can absolutely substitute another potato if you already have them or can’t find red skinned ones.
Some people like to roast their chicken with butter. Some people prefer to use olive oil (I am definitely team olive oil). For this recipe I like both. I’ve included the measurement of oil in grams so you can pour it into the jug on the scale rather than measure it differently than the butter. It’s just for ease because you want equal quantities of both.
Ingredients
- Whole chicken (about 1.8kg or 4lbs.)
- 100g butter melted
- 100g regular olive oil
- Small bunch of dill
- 3 or 4 cloves of garlic, unpeeled
- Unwaxed lemon, cut in half
- 600g red skinned potatoes, unpeeled and chopped into small pieces
- Salt & pepper to taste
- Additional chopped dill for serving (optional)
Method
- Heat the oven to 180°C / 160° Fan / 350°F. Place the chicken in a large roasting tin. Tumble the potatoes into the roasting tin as well, fitting them as best you can around the chicken.
- Mix together in a jug the olive oil, melted butter and the juice from both lemon halves. Stick the lemon halves and the garlic cloves along with the bunch of dill into the chicken cavity and then pour the mixture all over the chicken & potatoes. Try to get everything wet and coated if possible – use a spoon to gently toss the potatoes around in the butter & oil if necessary.
- Sprinkle salt & pepper generously over everything and pop into the oven. Roast for 90 minutes or until fully cooked, basting the bird and scooting the potatoes to turn them as much as possible at least 2 or 3 times during cooking. At the very least, try to keep the potatoes from sticking to the edge of the pan if you can. You will not be able to stir them properly unless your roasting tin is massive, but you can at least push them around a little so they all get crispy and don’t stick.
- Serve the chicken carved into pieces and hot with the potatoes and juices scooped from the pan. Sprinkle on a bit of chopped fresh dill to finish (optional).
Serving Note
- I like to serve this with green beans, but you can choose the green vegetable of your choice if you like.
- I also love this with a crusty piece of bread for mopping up the delicious pan juices.
