Flat Roast Chook w/ Salsa Verde
SERVES 4 with leftovers for lunch
PREP TIME 20min
DIFFICULTY easy
INGREDIENTS
2 1.2-1.4kg chicken, flattened video
600gm potatoes, skin on, cut into 1cm thick wedges
3 tbs olives oil
1 lemon - juice and zest
1tbs sea salt flakes
250ml chicken broth
Salsa Verde
¼ cup rosemary
½ bunch chives
1 tsp Dijon mustard
½ cup parsley roughly chopped
1 cup olive oil
1 garlic clove
1 tsp white wine vinegar
200gm baby green beans, removing the tails is not necessary if you plan on serving this dish with cutlery, unless of course you are being fancy.
METHOD
To flatten a chicken, flip it onto a board breast side down and use sharp kitchen scissors to snip out the spine. Turn it back over skin side up and press down on the breast plate to crack the wishbone.
See video here.
Preheat the oven to 200’c fan-forced.
On a large baking tray, place all the potatoes then cover with the oil, juice, zest, and chicken broth.
Toss them well so everything is coasted.
Push the potatoes to the outer edges and nestle the two chickens onto the tray. Skin side up.
I like to place them so their breasts meet at the middle as this area of the tray cooks slower and breasts cook faster and often dry out.
Sprinkle everything liberally with the sea salt then place in the oven to roast for 45 mins, turning the tray to keep the cooking even half way through.
To make the herb slurry - or salsa verde, again, if you’re fancy - place rosemary, chives, parsley, garlic, dijon Mustard and olive oil into a small kitchen blender or food processor and blend on high for 1 min until smooth. The extended blending time heats the leaves and keeps it all greener.
Season this well with salt and set aside until ready to serve.
Once the chicken is cooked through and potatoes have started to crisp on the edges, remove from the oven and allow to rest for 10 mins.
Meanwhile, Place the beans into a large bowl and pour boiling water from the kettle over them.
Drain after a minute when they are bright green. These can be tossed in oil salt and pepper however, they are fabulous scattered onto the chicken roasting tray and tossed about with the juices.
Use a pair of scissors to snip the chicken into portions, then serve the entire tray with a set of tongs and herb slurry at the ready for drizzling!
