Melanie Johnson's recipe for spatchcock chicken is a marvel.
‘With its crunchy bulb and feathery fronds, fennel is a summer highlight in both the kitchen and the garden,’ says our kitchen garden cook, Melanie Johnson.
Mix that with a classic roast chicken and you have a memorable dish that’s ideal with chunky chips (try our guide to making Heston Blumenthal’s chips).
Here’s how to do it.
Recipe: Creamy fennel and lemon roasted spatchcock chicken
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken, spatchcocked
- 4 cloves garlic, grated
- 50g butter
- 3 sprigs lemon thyme
- 1 sprig rosemary
- 4 lemons, juice of one and three cut into wedges
- 2 fennel bulbs, tough outer leaves removed, thinly sliced
- 50ml olive oil
- 1 glass dry white wine
- 300ml chicken stock
- 200ml double cream
- Chive flowers to serve (optional)
- Delicious served with chips — try Heston Blumenthal’s chip recipe
Method
Preheat your oven to 180˚C fan/200˚C/400˚F/gas mark 6
Either ask your butcher to spatchcock the chicken for you or do it yourself: use kitchen scissors to cut the backbone down either side and then remove it. Discard the backbone and turn the chicken so that it is breast side up and gently flatten with the palms of your hands. Season the chicken all over with salt and pepper.
Mix together the garlic, butter, herbs and juice from one of the lemons and then rub it all over the chicken, including under the skin.
To a large roasting tray, add the thinly sliced fennel and the remaining lemon wedges. Drizzle over olive oil, pour in the glass of white wine and chicken stock. Place the chicken on top and roast for about 45–55 minutes, basting halfway through. The chicken should be golden with crisped skin.
Remove the roasting tray from the oven and arrange the chicken, fennel and lemon on a serving plate and cover with foil. Pour the cream into the pan juices, mixing it through, and serve in a jug as it is, or pass through a sieve before serving.
Serve hot, dotted with chive flowers, and enjoy with fat chips to help mop up the delicious sauce.
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