Note: in addition to the 30 minutes of preparation time listed above, you will also need to set aside 30 minutes for marinating and 20 minutes for your chicken to rest.
Ingredients
1 bunch basil, roughly chopped
1 bunch thyme, roughly chopped, plus extra, to serve
2 sprigs rosemary, roughly chopped, plus extra, to serve
1 garlic bulb, smashed
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus extra, for drizzling
1.2kg whole chicken
1 large potato, unpeeled, scrubbed, thickly sliced
1 stale sourdough loaf (see Cook’s tips)
1 cup water
80g salted butter, chopped
125g cherry tomatoes
Sea-salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper, to season
Green salad, to serve
Method
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Combine herbs, garlic and oil in a large bowl. Coat chicken in marinade, marinate in fridge for 30 minutes (see Cook’s tips).
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Preheat oven to 200°C fan-forced (220°C conventional). In a roasting tray that fits the sourdough bread and chicken, layer potato. Slice top off bread, leave 2/3 as base. Put bread base on top of potato. Carefully add water to base of tray.
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Remove chicken from marinade. Spoon leftover marinade evenly over bread, dot evenly with butter. Press tomatoes into bread. Season. Top with chicken, pressing down firmly to stabilise.
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Roast for 30 minutes. Reduce temperature to 140°C fan-forced (160°C conventional) and cook for a further 30 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through. Rest for 20 minutes.
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Arrange chicken, bread, potato and tomatoes on a large serving platter. Spoon over cooking juices and drizzle with extra oil. Serve with salad and extra herbs.
COOK’S TIPS
The sourdough loaf needs to be large enough to place a chicken on. For extra flavour, marinate chicken and refrigerate it overnight.
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