Comfort Chicken

OK, I know every single person who has ever written about food has talked about the comfort factor of delicious roast chicken. There is a reason, sometimes you just need it. However, what they fail to mention everytime is the horrific dry, slightly sticky, flavourless, bland chicken shaped white meat that you are often given, usually in sub-par pubs or restaurants, but more worryingly by people you know and like. There is nothing more upsetting and off putting than bad roast chicken. I actually went through a few years where I thought I didn't really like roast chicken as a result of these catastrophes. Panic not, I have seen the light.

I would love to have the time to be like the Dowager Duchess of Devonshire, she loves and understands chickens to a level I couldn't imagine. She may be ever so slightly eccentric but it is fabulous. Read her book Counting My Chickens it is so enjoyable. I just love her. Her other fabulous book is her cook book "The Chatsworth Cook Book",  bear in mind that this is a woman who has not cooked since the war, and doesn't hide it. It simply contains her favourite "receipts" by those who have cooked for her, and they are delicious. It was this woman's love and appreciation of the chicken that got me back into the delight of eating roast chicken. Sadly to be truly like her you can't shop in Tesco for your chicken as they certainly don't tell you what breed they are etc. However, I live in Brixton, and Tesco will do well for me in comparison to the boiling chickens I see at every butcher on Electric Avenue, heads still on.

My mother has gone utterly chicken mad and so I can't write about chickens without showing a picture of our chickens in Yorkshire, they are rather fabulous.

So yesterday was a lovely relaxed Sunday, I woke up not particularly hungover, which is always a bonus on the weekend. However I just felt like haveing something comforting and soothing. The night before I had chatted to significant other no 2 (the Scot still ranks no 1 for now), he was out in Afghanistan with a stinking cold and sounded like he was already asleep on the phone, poor thing. That made me a little glum and because he couldn't have comforting roast chicken I thought I would have some for myself. It completely hit the spot. I'm actually amazed I didn't eat the whole chicken myself.

Cooking a chicken isn't that hard, the only thing that I have found when it comes to cooking the meat is LISTEN TO DELIA. Let the chicken rest after cooking for 20 minutes under some tin foil, it makes all the difference. Otherwise you just need to cook for 20 minutes at 220 Celcius, then turn down to 180 DC and cook for 20 minutes per 500g. It's more about what you do to flavour the bird that makes it. So this is what I did yesterday, I'm still thinking of the gravy now.

Roast Chicken with Lemon, Orange, Thyme and Tarragon


Ingredients;
1 chicken - size dependent on how many you are feeding
1 lemon
1 large orange
good bunch of fresh tarragon
2 tsp fresh thyme
2 cloves garlic
50g butter
4 slices streaky bacon
drizzle Olive oil
Salt and Pepper

For gravy:
small glass red wine
250ml chicken stock
2 tbsp cornflour

1. Cut the lemon in half, squeeze out all the juice over the chicken and into the roasting tin. Put half inside the bird.

2. Cut the orange in half, squeeze the juice of half over the bird, cut the other half into slices and sit the bird on top of them
3. Drizzle a little olive oil over the top of the chicken, season with salt and pepper and put the bacon over the top.
4. Finely chop all the herbs and roughly chop the garlic. Mix together with the butter (slightly soft) and place well in the cavity of the bird.
5. Put in the oven and cook for the appropriate time (see above), every 20 minutes spoon a little of the juices over the bird.
6. When cooking time is up, tip the bird, by inserting the wooden spoon into the cavity, and collect all the juices in the roasting tin.
7. Let the bird rest for 20 minutes under foil.

Then make the gravy
1. In the roasting tin scrape all the bits stuck to the bottom so they become part of the mixture.
2. Spoon off most of the fat.
3. Over a very low heat whisk the mixture together, gradually adding in the wine and chicken stock.
4. Lightly sprinkle in the cornflour and whisk so it is smooth.

I love chicken with Redcurrant jelly, homemade of course! My sister is obsessed with bread sauce. However you like it I can promise that eating this will make you a little bit happier!