Mediterranean Roast Chicken Recipe - Tender Succulent Meat and Crispy Golden Skin

Here' a great Mediterranean Roast Chicken recipe that you can easily master at home. After a lot of trial and error we've finally managed to achieve a tender - succulent bird with crispy delicious skin. The secret is in the boiling water. But, read on, all will be revealed below. We stuff the Chicken with mountain rosemary and thyme - juicy lemons, garlic and chillies, seal it up and then, before we roast it, plunge it into a large pan of boiling water for five minutes. After that we let it dry for half an hour before painting it with olive oil and seasoning with salt and black pepper. Then we roast it and the result is: just about the best thing you ever tasted.

Ingredients

1 Whole Chicken of about 3lbs.
1 Lemon cut in four lengthways
2 large air-dried chillies (or any chillies will do).
6 Cloves of garlic (skin on and bashed).
1 Each - large sprig of rosemary and thyme
10 Medium potatoes.
8 Medium carrots.
Salt, black pepper, water and olive oil.

Method

Right - first peel the potatoes, scrape the carrots and leave to one side.
Put a large pan on the heat (big enough to take the whole chicken).
Now - season the chicken inside with salt and black pepper.
Stuff the cavity with your garlic, herbs lemon quarters (squeezing the juice inside the cavity first) and chillies.
Then close up the skin using a wooden skewer or a cocktail stick.
Now the exciting bit - plunge the bird into the boiling water - for five minutes - turning it over and over.
Let it dry - either by hanging from a hook or placing on some absorbent kitchen paper for 30 minutes
Meanwhile bring your potatoes to the boil and parboil for five minutes. Remove from the heat - drain and leave them covered in their pan.
Paint your bird with olive oil - season with salt and black pepper and place it in the oven on a large roasting tin at 350f/175c for thirty minutes.
Toss your potatoes in olive oil and add them and the carrots to the roasting tin.
Cook for a further 30 minutes -turning the vegetables once.
Add a little water if necessary and cook for a further 15 minutes.
Remove from the oven and arrange the chicken and vegetables on a serving dish.
Make the gravy by de-glazing the roasting tin with some water and thickening with a little slaked corn starch (Cornflour).

About the Author

David Lynn invites you to share some of his Great Mediterranean Recipes, gathered together at his home in Southern Spain and published on his website http://www.cutting-edge-mediterranean-recipes.com

David has lots of other Chicken Recipes including Pollo al Ajillo (Spanish Garlic Chicken), Chicken Saltimbocca, Spicy Mediterranean Chicken Wings and his own Mediterranean Chicken Recipe.

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