Feed your appetite for cooking with Penguin’s expert authors
One-Pot Roast Chicken with Ratatouille and Green Olives
Introduction from Barney Desmazery
There are two types of ratatouille – the posh one where each ingredient is cooked separately and brought together once cooked, or this much more favourable version where all those gorgeous summer vegetables are slowly stewed until jammy, almost chutney-like. The chicken roasting juices in this recipe take it above and beyond. I make lots of different versions of this using only one of the ratatouille veg, or just going for tomatoes and olives, but for a true celebration of summer I bring them all together. My family like rice with this, but I prefer little garlic-and-rosemary-studded roast potatoes that make use of the spare shelf in the oven.
Ingredients
Method
Season the chicken well all over – if you have time to do this a good few hours or even a day ahead and keep it in the fridge, it will make a big difference.
Preheat the oven to 210°C/190°C fan/gas 7. Warm the oil in a large, flameproof roasting tin or casserole dish, then lower in the chicken and brown it all over for 15–20 minutes, turning carefully with tongs, until golden on all sides – watch out, it will splutter hot fat. Lift onto a plate while you cook the veg.
Throw the aubergine and courgettes into the same roasting tin and cook for 5 minutes until starting to soften. Scatter in the onion and peppers and cook for another 5–8 minutes until everything’s golden and slightly collapsed. Stir through the garlic and cook for 1 more minute.
Pour in the vinegar and let it bubble for a few seconds. Tip in the tomatoes, sprinkle over the sugar and oregano, then stir in the thyme, olives and the basil stalks. Season generously and stir.
Sit the chicken back on top, breast-side up, then roast uncovered for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes until the chicken is golden and cooked through. Let it rest in the roasting tin for 10 minutes, then scatter over the torn basil leaves.
Lift the chicken from the roasting tin, letting any juices from the cavity pour back into the ratatouille, then carve the chicken into chunky pieces and place on plates with the ratatouille spooned over straight from the tin.
Reviews
4.5 out of 5 stars
2 Ratings
Have you tried this recipe? Let us know how it went by leaving a comment below.
Our team will respond to any queries as soon as we can - this may take longer over weekends. You do not need to resubmit your comment.
Please note: Moderation is enabled and may delay your comment being posted. There is no need to resubmit your comment. By posting a comment you are agreeing to the website Terms of Use.
2 Comments