Christmas Chicken
'Ello 'ello 'ello!! Not going to ramble on... I've got a yummy chicken recipe below that you can enjoy with or without the chilli. Modifications are easy depending on your palate so don't delay, add chicken to the menu if it isn't already on there!
Serves 2 - The bigger the bird, the more it feeds!
1kg chicken
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 bouillon cubes
1/2 tsp salt
2 spring onions
2 chillies (variety based on your tolerance)
8 freshly picked basil leaves
2" ginger root
a few sprigs of fresh parsley
1 tbsp oil
1 tsp naga chilli powder (optional)
- If the chicken is coming from the fridge, remove from the fridge and leave for 15 minutes before starting.
- Using a couple of kitchen towels, dry off the chicken then rub the salt, black pepper and one of the crushed bouillon cubes all over the bird. Use gloves if you have them, otherwise make sure you throughly wash your hands for at least 13 seconds before the next step.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C.
- Rinse the spring onions, chilli and basil leaves and pat dry with a kitchen towel. Slice them all thinly and set aside.
- Peel and grate the ginger, and mix it together with the sliced onions, chilli and basil and the second bouillon cube. Using gloves, rub this all over the chicken, reserving half a tablespoon of it for the chicken cavity. If you haven't got gloves, use a fork to press the mix onto the chicken.
- Rinse the parsley and pat dry then fold and put into the chicken cavity. Top up the cavity with the rest of the seasoning mix and then place the chicken on a foil lined roasting pan or baking tray.
- Drizzle the oil over the bird if you haven't got gloves. If you've got some gloves, rub the oil onto the bird. Remember that you've added chilli to the seasoning so you don't want to do this with your bare hands, unless like me, you've developed a tolerance for chilli on your skin. Just don't touch your eyes afterwards like I did! Ouch!!
- Set the timer for 20 mins and place the chicken in the middle of the preheated oven.
- After 20 mins, using oven gloves, take the tray out of the oven and sprinkle on the naga chilli and return the bird to the oven for 25 mins. No basting!
- After the further 25 mins, using oven gloves, bring out the chicken, grab a teaspoon and baste the chicken with the oil and juices that the chicken has released then return to the oven for a further 10mins.
- Turn off the oven, open the oven door for a minute and then close the oven door again, leaving the chicken in there for 10mins. This part is necessary for a really juicy bird. If you've got other things to go into the oven, remove the bird and cover with foil and then with 2 clean kitchen towels.
- Now remove the chicken from the tray and place on a large plate. Use a spoon to scoop out the contents of the cavity and add it back to the baking tray with half a cup of water. Stir it all together for your gravy then strain off into a gravy pot, pressing the juices out of the mush.
- Voila!! Enjoy!
