This cracker of a recipe feels like a pretty grown-up way of improving on your standard roast chickbird. Again, all credit to Diana Henry here for the recipe. And definitely don't throw away your chicken bones and carcass afterwards. Stick them in the freezer until you have time, then simmer them in water with carrot, celery, bay leaves and pepper corns for at least an hour to make stock (notice I am calling this stock, not 'bone broth', which is essentially just stock with better marketing).
Serve with couscous, roast potatoes, or a wholegrain.
What's the A to V?
Chicken is a fantastic source of vitamins B1, B2 and B3, as well as haem-iron, sulphur and B12. The raisins in this are rich in potassium, iron and B6, while the onions add some extra sulphur. As for the pine nuts, nuts are truly a powerhouse of vitamins and minerals containing iron, magnesium and vitamin E amongst others. While the sherry may not be the most nutrient dense substance around, a little bit of what you fancied never hurt any dish.
Ingredients (serves 4):
1 large chicken, or 2 smaller poussins
2 large white onions, halved and quartered (or 6 shallots, peeled)
400 ml (14fl oz) of medium dry sherry
Olive oil
Salt, pepper, garlic salt (if you have it)
75 g raisins
25 g toasted pine nuts (place on a tray in the oven at 180 degrees for around 8 minutes, or until golden brown in colour).
4 sprigs of thyme
Method
Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees.
Place your raisins in a small saucepan with 200 ml of the sherry, and bring to the boil. Simmer for 3 to 5 minutes, and then remove the pan from the heat and leave your raisins to soak up the sherry for at least 30 minutes.
Put your chicken or chickens into an oven tray, surrounded by the onions, but be sure to use a tray that can tightly contain all your juices. Season with the pepper, salt and garlic salt if you have any. (Top tip; squeezing a bit of lemon juice and some sea salt over the bird will help the skin to get nice and crispy.) Drizzle over some olive oil, and add your thyme sprigs to the tray before placing in the oven.
Once 20 minutes have passed, pour over your remaining sherry, and cook for a further 15 minutes. Then, add in your raisins along with the sherry they've been soaking in, and cook for another 10 minutes (roughly 45 minutes cooking time in total).
Once your chicken is golden brown and the juices run clear when you stick a knife in (if not, you need to cook the chicken for longer), remove from the oven and scatter with your toasted pine nuts. Spoon the juices over the top and serve.