Roast Chicken With Sage & Hazelnut Butter

Roast Chicken With Sage & Hazelnut Butter, Garlic Breadcrumbs, and Roast Potatoes with Nut Butter

Ingredients:

Roast Chicken:
1 free range organic chicken, approx 1.5kg
30g butter
Bunch of sage
Sea salt and black pepper, to taste

Roast Potatoes: 
Olive oil, generous glug
1/2 bunch of sage
1.5kg potatoes, peeled and quatered
1 squash, cut into thick slices

Nut & Sage Buerre Noisette
110g hazelnuts
150g butter

Garlic Breadcrumbs
100g breadcrumbs
1 large clove of garlic, minced

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 190˚C, and remove your chicken from the fridge, and allow to come to room temperature before cooking.

Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and then add your peeled and cut potatoes, and boil for 12-15 minutes or until they begin to soften. Drain, and give a gentle shake to bash up the edges a little and then leave to dry out.

For the chicken, combine 3/4 of your butter with a little salt and carefully push beneath the skin of the chicken breast. Once evenly covered, place around 5-6 small sage leaves under the skin too, arranging so that they lay flat. Rub a little butter on the outside of the skin, add a sprinkle of sea salt, then place the chicken in a large baking tray. Scatter the potatoes around the chicken, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with sea salt then place into the oven to roast. Turn the potatoes, and baste the chicken after 40 minutes, and add the sliced squash.

Roast for another 15-20 minutes, depending on how large your chicken is. You can tell when the chicken is done, as the juice from the thigh will run clear.

Whilst the chicken continues to roast, make the beurre noisette. Lightly toast the hazelnuts until golden, then remove from the heat and roughly chop. Add the butter to a small frying pan, along with the nuts and sage, and gently increase the heat until the butter has melted and the mixture is a light golden brown. Pour this mixture over the chicken, and vegetables, to cook for the final 10 minutes. You can remove the chicken, and allow to rest, to give the potatoes and squash a little extra time if they need it.

Once you have removed everything from the roasting tray, make sure to pour the beurre noisette and juices from the pan over the chicken before serving.

Enjoy!

RECIPE: Anna Barnett