Recipe: Roast Chicken with Rigani and Garlic (4 - 6)

Ingredients...

2 lb roasting potatoes cut lengthways into quarter
1 * 4-5 lb chicken, whole or cut into
serving pieces, skin & fat removed
Juice of 1 1/2 lemons
3-4 fl oz extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tbsp coarse grain sea salt
6 cloves garlic, unpeeled, lightly crushed
4 tbsps rigani, crumbled
crushed black peppercorns to taste
6 bay leaves
1/2 oz unsalted butter
14 fl oz chicken stock
1/2 tsp dijon mustard
1 tsp honey
1 small bunch flat leaf parsley coarsely chopped

Instructions...

1) Heat oven to gas mark 5, 190 C. Rub the chicken with the juice of 1 lemon, 3 tbsps of the olive oil and the salt. Place the chicken in a deep heavy baking dish and surround with the potatoes and garlic in a single layer.

2) Sprinkle the chicken with the rigani, pepper, bay leaves and the remaining olive oil and dot with butter. Add half the stock. Roast uncovered for 15 mins. Reduce oven temp to gas 4, 180 C and roast until tender, about 1 hour for a whole chicken or 40 mins for pieces. Baste the chicken and potatoes frequently, adding more stock if needed.

3) Transfer the chicken, potatoes, and garlic to a serving dish and keep warm. Strain the pan juices into a small saucepan, remove the fat with a spoon and add any remaining stock. If this is more than about 12 fl oz's then reduce by rapid boiling.

4) Combine mustard, honey and half the remmaining lemon juice and stir into the sauce. Add salt, pepper and lemon juice to taste. Heat to warm.

5) Pour just enough sauce over the chicken and potatoes to moisten them. Sprinkle with parsley. Serve remaining sauce seperately.