Planning a Mother's Day Sunday lunch? Here are five ways to roast a chicken

There is nothing more inviting than the smell of a chicken roasting in the oven. Treat your mother to a slap up Sunday lunch with one of our most popular roast chicken recipes

Herby Homemade Rustic Whole Skillet Chicken with Potatoes and Onions

When you are cooking a roast chicken, simple is always best. Pair with mashed or roast potatoes, or if the weather is sunny: spiced  oven chips and a green salad. 

Chop some vegetables up into equal sizes, drizzle with olive oil, add whatever herbs you have to hand and pop in the oven on the rack underneath your chicken for the last 45 minutes of cooking. 

Serve everything on a platter with some gravy or mustard and extra vinaigrette and watch mum bask in your brilliance. 

Rotisserie style roast chicken

recipe by:Currabinny Cooks

Make two of these chickens at a time - one never seems to be enough

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 20 mins

Cooking Time

 2 hours 0 mins

Total Time

 2 hours 20 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 1 chicken (1.7-2kg)

• ½ lemon

• 4 garlic cloves, bashed

• olive oil

• 2 tsp paprika

• 1 tsp cayenne pepper

• sea salt

• black pepper

• ½ tsp dried thyme

• ½ tsp dried parsley

• 60g butter

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 160°C.

2. Place the lemon half and one of the cloves inside the cavity of your organic chicken. Tie the legs together with some cooking string if they are not already tied together by the butcher. Place in a medium to large roasting tin.

3. In a small bowl, mix together the spices, salt and butter and smother the seasoned butter all over the chicken and inside the skin. Sprinkle over the dried herbs and place whatever vegetables you are using like potatoes and carrots, along with the rest of the garlic cloves around the chicken and drizzle with olive oil, seasoning generously.

4. Place in the oven for 2-2½ hours. While the chicken is cooking, baste it a couple of times with the pan juices. Serve immediately with the lovely veg and pan juices poured all over.

Roast chicken with herbs and gravy

recipe by:Darina Allen

Buy a gorgeous organic chicken for a treat, slather the breast and legs with a gutsy Winter herb or spice butter and tuck in

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 2 hours 0 mins

Total Time

 2 hours 10 mins

Course

 Main

Cuisine

 Irish

Ingredients

• 1.5 – 2.3kg (4 1/2 - 5lbs) free-range chicken, preferably organic

• 1 lemon, cut into slices

• sprig of thyme (optional)

• 75g (3oz) butter

• 2 tspsmoked paprika and 1 tbsp chopped parsley or 2 tbsp chopped rosemary

• For the gravy:

• 600-900ml (1 – 1 1/2 pints) of stock from giblets or chicken stock

• For the garnish: 

• sprigs of flat parsley

Method

1. First, remove the wishbone from the neck end of the chicken: this is easily done by lifting back the loose neck, skin and cutting around the wishbone with a small knife — tug to remove, this isn't at all essential but it does make carving much easier later on. Tuck the wing tips underneath the chicken to make a neat shape.

2. Put the wishbone, giblets, carrot, onions, celery and herbs into a saucepan. Cover with cold water, bring to the boil, skim and simmer gently while the chicken is roasting. This is the basis of the gravy.

3. Pop the lemon slices and sprig of thyme into the cavity of the chicken.

4. Mix the soft butter with the freshly chopped herbs or smoked paprika and chopped parsley. Slather over the breast and legs. Sprinkle with salt and freshly-ground black pepper.

5. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4.

6. Weigh the chicken and allow about 20 minutes to 450g (1lb) and 20 minutes over — put on the middle shelf in the oven. Baste a couple of times during the cooking with the buttery juices. The chicken is done when the juices are running clear or when the internal temperature reaches 75 – 80°C (165 – 175°F) on a meat thermometer.

7. Alternatively, to test prick the thickest part at the base of the thigh, hold a spoon underneath to collect the liquid, examine the juices — they should be clear.

8. Remove the chicken to a carving dish, keep it warm and allow it to rest while you make the gravy.

9. To make the gravy: tilt the roasting tin to one corner and spoon off the surplus fat from the juices and return the roasting pan to the stove. Deglaze the pan juices with the fat-free stock from the giblets and bones (you will need 600-900ml (1 – 1 1/2 pints) depending on the size of the chicken). Using a whisk, stir and scrape well to dissolve the caramelised meat juices in the roasting pan. Boil it up well, season and thicken with a little roux if you like (the gravy should not be thick). Taste and correct seasoning, serve in a hot gravy boat.

10. Pop the chicken onto a nice carving dish surrounded by crispy roast potatoes and vegetables and a few sprigs of flat parsley. Arm yourself with a sharp knife and bring it to the table. Carve as best you can and ignore rude remarks if you are still practicing — but do try to organise it so that each person gets some brown and some white meat. Serve with the delicious gravy.

Marcella Hazan's roast chicken with lemons

recipe by:Darina Allen

Simpe roast chicken - that is all that there is to this recipe. No fat to cook with, no basting to do, no stuffing to prepare, no condiments except for salt and pepper

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 30 mins

Cooking Time

 2 hours 0 mins

Total Time

 2 hours 30 mins

Course

 Main

Cuisine

 Italian

Ingredients

• 1.35-1.8kg free range organic chicken

• sea salt

• freshly ground black pepper

• 2 small lemons

• trussing needle and string

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.

2. Rub the salt and freshly ground black pepper with your fingers over all the chicken and into the cavity.

3. Wash the lemons well and dry them with a tea towel, roll on the counter and prick each of the lemons in at least 20 places with a cocktail stick or skewer. Put both lemons in the cavity.

4. Close up the opening with cocktail sticks or with a trussing needle and string. Don’t make it absolutely airtight or the chicken may burst.

5. Put the chicken into a roasting pan, breast side down. Do not add cooking fat of any kind. This bird is self-basting, so don’t worry it won’t stick to the pan.

6. Place it in the upper third of the preheated oven. After 30 minutes, turn the chicken breast side up. Be careful not to puncture the skin.

7. Cook for another 30-35 minutes then increase the heat to 200°C, and cook for a further additional 20 minutes. Calculate between 20-25 minutes total cooking time for each 500g.

8. There is no need to turn the chicken again.

9. Bring the chicken to the table whole and leave the lemons inside until it is carved. The juices that run out are perfectly delicious, so be sure to spoon them over the chicken slices. The lemons will have shrivelled up but they still contain some juice; do not squeeze, they may squirt. Serve immediately.
   This recipe is from Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan.

Roast chicken with onion sauce and couscous stuffing

recipe by:Darina Allen

Couscous is a fantastic alternative to breadcrumbs in stuffing and the ingredients in this one make a headily spiced roast

Servings

6

Preparation Time

 30 mins

Cooking Time

 2 hours 0 mins

Total Time

 2 hours 30 mins

Course

 Main

Cuisine

 Middle Eastern

Ingredients

• 1 large chicken

• Juice of ½ a lemon

• 1½ tbsp olive oil

• Salt and freshly ground pepper

• 1kg  onions, sliced

• 4 tbsp sunflower oil

• Pinch of saffron (powder or pistils)

• ¼ tsp ginger

• 1 tsp cinnamon

• 1 tbsp honey

• 250g  packet couscous

• 400ml  chicken stock (you can use 1 stock cube)

• ½ tsp cinnamon

• 4 tbsp sunflower oil

• 100g  blanched almonds, toasted and coarsely chopped

• 50g  pistachios, coarsely chopped

• 50g  pine nuts, toasted

• 50g  raisins soaked in water for 30 minutes

Method

1. In a wide baking dish rub the chicken with a mixture of olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Put it breast-side down so that the fat runs down and prevents the breasts from drying out, and pour into the dish about a small teacup of water.

2. Cook in an oven pre-heated to 200°C/gas mark 6 for 40 minutes per kilo. Turn the chicken breast-side up after about 50 minutes. Test to see that it is ready by cutting into a thigh with a pointed knife. The juices should run clear, not pink.

3. While the chicken is cooking, make the onion sauce.Put the onions in a wide pan with four tablespoons of sunflower oil, and cook, covered, over very low heat for 30-45 minutes until they are very soft, adding salt and pepper, and stirring occasionally. They will stew in their own juice. Remove the lid and stir occasionally until the onions are melting soft and golden. Add cinnamon, saffron, ginger and honey and cook for a few minutes. In all, it should take about one hour.

4. Put the couscous in a bowl. Warm the stock, adding a little salt (take into account the saltiness of the stock) and the cinnamon. Pour 300ml  of the stock — the same measured volume as the couscous — over the couscous, mix very well and leave for 20 minutes until the couscous has absorbed the stock. Then stir in the oil and break up any lumps with a fork. Rub the grain between your hands, to air it and make it light and fluffy.

5. Stir in the chopped almonds and pistachios (you can chop them in the food processor), the pine nuts and raisins, and mix well. Cover the dish with foil. All you will need is to heat it through for 20 minutes in a 200ºC/gas mark 6 oven before serving.

6. Pour the remaining stock on top. Cut the chicken into six serving pieces, remove the carcass, arrange them in a wide serving dish and pour the onion sauce on top and let it mix with the gravy.

7. Heat through at the same time as the couscous stuffing. Serve the two separately, or the chicken and sauce on top of the couscous stuffing.

Roast cauliflower with saffron and bay leaves and crispy chicken

recipe by:Darina Allen

This one-pot roast chicken with cauliflower is guaranteed to be a family favourite

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 40 mins

Total Time

 50 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 4–8 organic, free-range chicken thighs or drumsticks, depending on size

• Extra virgin olive oil

• ½ –1 tsp rosemary, chopped

• 2 pinches of saffron strands

• 1 large or 2 small cauliflowers (approx. 1kg), leaves snapped off*, head broken into small florets, stalk roughly chopped

• 2 medium onions, finely sliced

• 1 tbsp pul biber or a good pinch of dried chilli flakes

• 3 bay leaves

• 50g sultanas, soaked in hot water to plump up

• 50g almonds, coarsely chopped

• Flaky sea salt and freshly ground

• Black pepper

•  

• To serve:

• 2 tablespoons roughly chopped flat-leaf parsley

• 4 spring onions, sliced on the diagonal

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/gas mark 6.

2. Slash the chicken drumsticks. Drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with chopped rosemary, toss and arrange in a single layer in a roasting tin.

3. Roast for 30–45 minutes, depending on size, while you prepare the cauliflower.

4. Put the saffron into a little bowl, cover it with a couple of teaspoons of boiling water and leave it to steep. Put the cauliflower, onions, chilli flakes and bay leaves into a bowl and season with salt and pepper.

5. Once the saffron has steeped, add to the cauliflower mixture with the drained sultanas and almonds. Transfer to the roasting tin and cover loosely with parchment paper to protect from burning. Bake for 20 minutes.

6. Remove the parchment and roast for a further 10–15 minutes until the edges are nicely caramelised, the cauliflower is tender and the chicken is cooked. Turn into a shallow serving dish.

7. Sprinkle with the chopped parsley and spring onion. Serve.
   From One Pot Feeds All by Darina Allen