Festive Roast Chicken

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This delicious roast chicken perfectly pairs flavourful roasted vegetables and refreshing yogurt sauce making it the perfect festive dish this Christmas season.
Main Course
4
30 mins
2 hrs
2 hrs, 30 mins
Main Course
4
30 mins
2 hrs
2 hrs, 30 mins

Ingredients

\1 whole chicken, medium or large
\¼ cup of olive oil
\1 rounded teaspoon of rosemary, fresh, finely chopped (or 1 teaspoon dried)
\1 teaspoon of dried oregano, dried
\4 cloves of garlic, minced
\sea salt
\black pepper, cracked

Vegetables

\2 red capsicums, large, each deseeded and cut into 6 large pieces
\1 purple kumara, large, cut into cubes
\3 potatoes, medium, washed and cut into cubes
\1 red onion, cut into 8 wedges
\1 stem of rosemary, fresh
\3 zucchini, medium, halved lengthways and cut into thirds
\¾ cup of Kalamata olives, pitted
\150 grams of feta, cut into cubes
\olive oil, for drizzling

Yoghurt sauce

\½ telegraph cucumber
\1 cup of Greek yoghurt, full fat
\¼ teaspoon of cinnamon, ground
\1 handful of mint leaves, roughly chopped
\sea salt
\black pepper, cracked

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 180°C.
  2. Grate the cucumber on a box grater and squeeze tightly to remove as much liquid as possible. Combine in a bowl along with the other ingredients for yogurt sauce. Season generously with sea salt and cracked black pepper.
  3. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels. Mix the olive oil, herbs and garlic. Rub all over the chicken and place a tablespoon or two inside the chicken too. Sprinkle generously with sea salt and cracked black pepper. Tie with legs together.
  4. Place on a large oven-proof tray.
  5. Toss the capsicum, kumara, potatoes and red onion with a little olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Scatter the leaves of the rosemary stem and place vegetables around the chicken. Bake for 45 minutes.
  6. Toss the zucchini and olives with some olive oil and add to the vegetables on the tray. Cook for a further 45 minutes.
  7. Scatter the feta cheese on top of the vegetables in the last 15 minutes of cooking.
  8. Check the chicken is ready by piercing the inner thigh of the chicken and ensuring the juices run clear.
  9. Tip the chicken slightly so that the internal juices run onto the tray. Place the chicken on a plate to rest. Cover loosely with tinfoil.
  10. Spread the vegetables evenly across the tray. Change the oven setting to grill (high). Place the tray near the top of the oven and grill the vegetables for 3-5 minutes. This step is optional, but a last blast of high heat is a great way to brown and caramelize vegetables that were tucked under the chicken.

Notes

Gluten Free. Contains meat, dairy.

Recipe credit: Bird and Barrow/Brinks

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