Roast chicken and rosemary potatoes with yoghurt gravy
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 2 hours
Total Time: 2 hours 20 minutes
Servings: 4-6 servings
I use yoghurt a lot in my marinades. The lactic acid helps to break down fats in the meat. When roasted, the solids remain to leave a luscious crust.
The richness of Greek yoghurt is used twice here - once to tenderise the meat, then again to create a superb tangy gravy, served up with herby roast potatoes.
You will need to add at least two hours marinading time to the prep time above.
Ingredients
- 450g Greek-style yoghurt
- 60ml olive oil
- 1 head of garlic, cut in half horizontally, plus 4 cloves extra, peeled and crushed
- 1½ lemons, zest finely grated, to get 1½ tsp
- 5g parsley, roughly chopped, plus extra leaves to garnish
- 1½ tbsp rosemary leaves, chopped, plus 4 whole sprigs
- Salt and black pepper
- 1 large chicken (about 1.6kg), patted dry
- 15g unsalted butter, softened
- 500ml chicken stock
- 1 large onion (200g), peeled and cut into 6 wedges
- 650g roasting potatoes, cut in half lengthways
- 2 tsp plain flour
Method
Mix 150g yoghurt in a bowl with three tablespoons of oil, the crushed garlic, lemon zest, chopped parsley and rosemary, a quarter-teaspoon of salt and a good grind of pepper.
Ideally, you'll need a roasting pan with rack and lid for this recipe. If you don't have, then a baking tray with sides a few cm high, roughly 25x36cm, as well as an ovenproof rack will do. Use tin foil where a lid is required.
Please the chicken inside a roasting pan with lid. Season the chicken inside and out with three-quarters of a teaspoon of salt and a good grind of pepper. With the chicken’s legs pointing towards you, use your hands to loosen the skin off the breasts, then spread the butter evenly over the exposed flesh.
Rub the yoghurt mixture all around the cavity and the outside of the chicken. Halve the whole lemon and stuff it inside the cavity. Cover the bird with the lid, then leave to marinate in the fridge for at least two hours or overnight.
Heat the oven to 240C (220C fan). Take the chicken out of the fridge about 45 minutes before you plan to roast it.
Take the chicken from the pan. Put in half the stock, onion, potatoes, the two garlic head halves, rosemary sprigs, three-quarters of a teaspoon of salt and a good grind of pepper. Top with a metal rack, put the chicken on it and roast for 20 minutes.
Turn down the heat to 200C (180C fan), and cook for an hour more; if the chicken gets too dark, cover loosely with lid for the last 20 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a platter and leave to rest. Fish out the vegetables from the tray, arrange them around the chicken, and keep warm.
Position the pan directly over one or two hobs on a high heat. Add the remaining 250ml stock and bring to a simmer, scraping the pan to release as much of the burned-on bits as possible – about four minutes in total. Strain into a medium saucepan, then put the pan on a medium heat. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk the remaining 300g yoghurt with the flour and a quarter-teaspoon of salt. Once the stock has come to a simmer, temper the yoghurt by slowly pouring half the hot stock into the yoghurt bowl and whisking to combine.
Pour the contents of the yoghurt bowl into the stock pan and cook, whisking continuously, for 10 minutes, or until the flour has cooked out and the gravy has thickened slightly. Be careful not to let the gravy boil, otherwise the yoghurt might split –turn down the heat if you feel it’s getting too hot. Squeeze the remaining lemon half to give you a teaspoon and a half of juice, and stir into the gravy.
To serve, drizzle the remaining tablespoon of oil over the chicken, top the vegetables with the picked parsley and serve the yoghurt gravy in a bowl alongside.
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