Colm O'Gorman's recipe for roast chicken with a lemon and parmesan crumb

Colm O'Gorman's Roast Chicken with a Lemon and Parmesan Crumb.

The inspiration for this week’s recipe is the beautiful sweet potato puree that is served as a side dish. It is silky smooth, sweet, and flavourful, and I knew it would work perfectly with roast chicken. 

To balance out the sweetness of the puree, and to add texture, I came up with a lemon and parmesan crumb for the chicken. I also made some air-fried crispy tender stem broccoli. The result is a fabulous combination of flavours and textures, and the best part is that every element of the dish is super easy to prepare and cook.

I use a spatchcock chicken for this recipe. That is a chicken that has had the backbone removed and is flattened out. It cooks more quickly and better absorbs the flavour from my spice rub than a regular chicken. You can ask your butcher to prepare that for you, or it is very easy to prepare at home. To spatchcock the chicken, start by placing it on a chopping board breast-side down, with the legs towards you. 

Using a sturdy scissors or poultry shears, or a large sharp knife, cut up along each side of backbone from the pope’s nose to the neck cavity to remove it, cutting through the rib bones as you go. Open the chicken out and turn it over. Flatten the breastbone by pressing down hard with the heel of your hand so that the breast meat is all one thickness and trim away any excess fat.

Colm O'Gorman's Roast Chicken with a Lemon and Parmesan Crumb

recipe by:Colm O'Gorman

Potato puree inspires a twist on a classic chicken recipe

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 20 mins

Cooking Time

 44 mins

Total Time

 1 hours 4 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• Roast Chicken

• 1 whole chicken, 1.6-1.8kg

• 2 tsp flaky sea salt

• ½ tsp garlic salt

• 1 tsp smoked paprika

• 1 lemon

• 1 tsp ground black pepper

• 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves

• 75g grated parmesan cheese

• 25g dried panko breadcrumbs

• 25g melted butter

• Sweet Potato Puree

• 1kg sweet potatoes

• 40g butter

• 1 tsp flaky sea slat

• A good grind of black pepper

• Crispy Tender Stem Broccoli

• 250g tender stem broccoli

• 1 plump garlic clove

• 1 tsp toasted sesame oil

• 1 tsp soy sauce

Method

1. Grate the zest of the lemon. Pop the sea salt, paprika, garlic salt, black pepper, thyme leaves and half of the zest into a bowl and combine well. Put the spatchcock chicken into a roasting tin, and starting with the underside, rub in the spice mixture, before turning it over and rubbing in the rest, making sure to work it into the skin and coat the bird all over. Let the chicken rest in the roasting tin for thirty minutes on a worktop, or a few hours in the fridge.

2. Heat your oven to 180 Celsius, and when the chicken is ready, pop it into the oven. Roast for twenty-five minutes while you get started on your sides and the crumb for the chicken.

3. Start by preparing the crumb. Melt the butter. Add the grated parmesan, panko breadcrumbs, the rest of the lemon zest and the melted butter to a bowl. Season with some flaky sea salt and ground black pepper and mix to combine thoroughly. Set aside for now.

4. Wash the sweet potatoes and cut a slit about two centimetres deep down the centre of each. I bake the sweet potato for the purée, and the simplest way to do this is in a microwave. Microwave on full power for at least fifteen minutes or until the potatoes are very soft and cooked through. The time needed to cook the potatoes will vary depending upon their size, but fifteen to twenty minutes will do it.

5. By now your chicken should have had its first twenty-five minutes in the oven. Remove the roasting tin from the oven and scatter the parmesan and lemon crumb over the top of the chicken, spreading it as evenly as possible over the breast and leg portions. Some of it will fall off into the tin, do not worry about that. It will combine with the juices from the chicken to give you delicious drippings to spoon over the meat. Cut the lemon into quarters and pop those into the tin. Put the roasting tin back in the oven for another twenty minutes. Turn the heat up to 200 Celsius for the final ten minutes.

6. Next, prep the broccoli. Peel and mince the garlic and wash the broccoli. Shake off any excess water and pop the broccoli into a bowl. Pour over the sesame oil and soy sauce and add the minced garlic. Toss the broccoli to get it well coated before placing it in the basket of your air fryer. Cook at 180 Celsius for five to eight minutes, tossing it a few times as it cooks. If you do not have an air fryer, you can roast the broccoli on a tray in the oven alongside the chicken for its final ten minutes at 200 Celsius. You will know it is ready when the florets are lightly charred and crispy, but the stems are still a little crisp.

7. While the broccoli is cooking, finish the sweet potato puree. Cut the potatoes down the centre lengthways. Hold the hot potatoes with a clean tea towel and use a spoon to scoop out the flesh into a food processor. Add the butter, half a teaspoon of flaky sea salt and a good grind of black pepper. Blitz on high speed until the puree is silky smooth, adding a little milk to get the right consistency if required. Taste and add more seasoning if needed.

8. Remove the chicken from the oven and allow it rest on a board for a few minutes. Drain any juices from the board back into the tin and use a spatula to combine all the juices and bits of crumb to make your drippings. Place that in a bowl and let it sit to allow any excess fat to rise the surface. Remove the fat from the drippings with a spoon.

9. Use a sharp knife to portion the chicken. The legs and thighs will come away very easily, next, cut down the centre to separate the breasts, before cutting each breast into two portions. Put the chicken on a platter, add the roasted lemons and scatter the drippings over the top. Serve right away with the sweet potato puree and the crispy broccoli on the side.