Before the Meat-free Monday trend started my Monday evenings were filled the most delicious roast chicken dinners. This week’s roast chicky is slow-roasted, stuffed with sautéed vegetables, loads of garlic and cooked in a white wine sauce. I also roasted butternut and beetroot and  made tasty fried sweet potatoes.

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INGREDIENTS

1 kg free-range whole chicken, room temperature
2 brown onion, roughly chopped
3 large carrots, sliced
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 globe garlic
1 large handful fresh parsley
2 cups chicken stock
1 bay leaf
1/2 a lemon
Olive oil
Sea salt
Black pepper
4 sprigs fresh rosemary
3 sweet potatoes
1 large butternut, skin on and chopped
3 whole beetroots
1 glass good quality white wine

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METHOD
Serves 4-5
Preparation 15 minutes
Cooking time 2.5 hours

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Preheat the oven to 150°C. 

Place a saucepan on high heat, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and sauté the onions, carrots, 3 crushed garlic cloves and half the parsley for 7 minutes. 

Take out a large casserole dish stuff half the sautéed veggies into the cavity of the chicken along with half the lemon. Add the rest of the veggies and rosemary to the dish with the stock and good crack of black pepper and a bay leaf.

Season the chicken with sea salt, black pepper and olive oil. Place breast-side down in the dish, cover with tinfoil, place the lid on and cook for 2 hours. 

When the chicken has 1 hour left to cook, place the chopped butternut, whole beets and the whole garlic into a tinfoil bag with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, 2 sprigs of rosemary and sea salt and black pepper and cook in the oven for an hour.

Once the chicken has been cooking for 2 hours, crunk up the heat to 200°C. Take the chicken out of casserole dish and transfer to a tray. Place the chicken breast-side up, drizzle over some olive oil, sea salt and black pepper and cook under the grill for 30 minutes or until the skin is crispy.

Place the lid on the casserole dish and set aside for later.

Poke holes in the sweet potatoes and cook in the microwave until a knife can easily slide through. Cut into thickish circles. Place a saucepan on high heat and add 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil to the pan. Once the oil is hot add the sweet potato circles and fry on medium-to-high heat for 5 minutes on each side, or until golden.

Once the chicken is crispy, take out the oven, cover in tinfoil and let it rest.  Place the casserole dish on high-heat, once the stock starts boiling add 1 full glass of white wine. Remove the veggies from the cavity of the chicken and place in the sauce.

To serve:

Carve the chicken, cover in freshly chopped parsley, place pieces into a shallow bowls, spoon over the sauce, add the potatoes, roast butternut and beets. Season and serve immediately.