One-tray Spatchcocked Chicken with Herby Rice
This one-tray roast chicken and rice dish is bound to become a firm favourite. It’s simple to make and full of flavour thanks to the roasted fennel, whole bulb of garlic and mix of fresh herbs that are stirred through the rice just before serving.
Introduction
Do not be fooled by the simplicity of the recipe name. This is a one-tray dish with big flavour. The fennel gets a head start in the oven to gain a bit of colour before everything else goes in. As the chicken cooks on top of the rice, its gorgeous fatty juices trickle down, infusing flavour into the rice as the skin crisps up on top. It does require you peeling a whole bulb’s worth of garlic cloves, but trust me, when it is jammy and golden and you are smooshing it into your rice, you will wish there was even more. As the chicken rests, the rice is stirred through with lots of fresh herbs and any crispy bits of rice that have caramelised around the edges of the roasting tray.
Ingredients
| 1 (approx. 1.75kg) | large chicken, spatchcocked (see recipe note below) |
| 2 bulbs | fennel |
| olive oil | |
| salt and freshly ground black pepper | |
| 1 | unwaxed lemon |
| 1 whole bulb of | garlic, cloves peeled |
| 300g | brown basmati rice |
| 800ml | chicken or vegetable stock |
| 200ml | dry white wine |
| Large bunch of (about 25g) | dill |
| Bunch of (about 25g) | mint, leaves finely chopped |
| Large bunch of (about 50g) | parsley, leaves finely chopped |
| Small bunch of (about 25g) | basil, leaves left whole |
Method
For guidance on how to spatchcock a chicken, see our handy guide here.
Remove the chicken from the fridge at least 30 minutes before cooking. Preheat the oven to 200°C fan.
Remove the tough outer layer from the fennel bulbs, trim the base and any woody bits. Roughly slice into 1-cm slices.
Place the fennel slices in a deep roasting tray that is large enough to hold the rice and chicken. Drizzle with olive oil, then season with salt. Cook the fennel in the oven for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, using a serrated knife, work around the lemon, peeling away the rind and pith into thick strips roughly 2-cm wide.
Once the fennel has been cooking for 15 minutes, add the peeled garlic cloves, lemon rind and brown basmati rice to the roasting tray. Pour in the stock and wine, then give everything a good stir.
Drizzle the chicken with olive oil and rub it into the skin. Season with salt. Rest the chicken on top of the rice, adding more salt to the skin. Cover the tray with foil and cook for 1 hour.
After 1 hour, remove the foil and cook the chicken for a further 25 minutes. If you prefer the skin a little crispier, switch the oven to the grill setting for the last 5 minutes of the cooking time.
While the chicken finishes cooking, finely chop the dill, mint and parsley. I leave the basil leaves whole and allow them to wilt in, as spinach leaves would. They will lose some of their colour but none of their flavour.
Remove the chicken from the roasting tray and place on a board to rest for 10–15 minutes. Add all the fresh herbs to the tray with the rice, add a good glug of olive oil and squeeze in the juice of the lemon. Give everything a good stir until all the herbs have incorporated into the rice and the basil has started to wilt. Scrape up all the bits of crispy rice from the edges of the tray. Taste to check the seasoning, adjusting as needed.
Carve the chicken on the board and transfer the meat to a serving plate. Transfer the rice to a serving bowl. Or just serve up from the kitchen.
Do ahead: The garlic cloves can be peeled up to a day ahead, and kept covered in the fridge.
Reviews
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