simple roast chicken
When I was studying in university, I lived on campus and we always had block suppers and random suppers (basically any excuse to get together, cook, eat and be merry). My contribution was always the roast chicken. I learnt it from mum many years ago and it was always a quick go to when she couldn’t think of what to make for dinner. Simple and easy, it is the one dish that had the most mileage. People are always so impressed with it and yet all I do is to let it sit on a counter for 4 hours, and in the oven for another 1.5 hours. Years later, I’m still making this same dish and it has never failed me yet.
Recipe
Ingredients
1 whole chicken
Salt
Coarsely ground black pepper
Olive Oil
1/2 a lemon
Method
Clean the chicken and chop off the head and chicken feet if its still attached. Clear out the innards. Then rub salt all over the chicken, making sure to give the chicken a good massage. Get it into every single nook and cranny and think about rubbing all that salty goodness in. Once you’re done, do the same with the black pepper and then leave it on the countertop for at least 4 hours to marinate.
When ready to cook, drizzle the top with olive oil, and stuff half a lemon into the chicken’s butt. Roast in the oven at 180C for about 1.5 hours or until cooked through.
You can also choose to add a variety of vegetables roasting alongside your chicken too. I usually halve an entire garlic head and quarter up some onions while roasting along with whatever else I can find in the fridge.
