Name: The best roast chicken with winter vegetables
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 90 min
Total time: 100 min
Yield: 4-6
Ingredients: 1.8kg chicken; Sea-salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper, to season; ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil; 2 bunches flat-leaf parsley; 3 sticks celery, chopped; 1 swede, peeled, chopped; 4 medium potatoes, peeled, chopped; 4 carrots, peeled, chopped; 2 cups pumpkin, peeled, chopped; 2 parsnips, peeled, chopped; 4 bay leaves; 1 bunch thyme, leaves picked; Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon; 125g unsalted butter at room temperature; ½ cup walnuts, chopped; 2 cups baby spinach leaves

Is there anything better than roast chicken with the family at this time of year? There is if the recipe is prepared by Fast Ed, who’s going to make this the best roast chicken ever! Ed thinks there are never enough veggies in a roast, so he’s going to get more in the oven and have the chicken so succulent and tender it will fall off the bone. If you haven’t been able to achieve that with your roasts before, Ed has will teach you a simple change to your technique.

Ingredients

1.8kg chicken

Sea-salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper, to season

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

2 bunches flat-leaf parsley

3 sticks celery, chopped

1 swede, peeled, chopped

4 medium potatoes, peeled, chopped

4 carrots, peeled, chopped

2 cups pumpkin, peeled, chopped

2 parsnips, peeled, chopped

4 bay leaves

1 bunch thyme, leaves picked

Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon

125g unsalted butter at room temperature

½ cup walnuts, chopped

2 cups baby spinach leaves

Method

Preheat oven to 210°C fan-forced (230°C conventional). Season chicken, rub with 1 tablespoon of the oil. Put 1 parsley bunch into chicken cavity. Arrange celery and swede in middle of large roasting pan; set chicken on top. Bake 20 minutes.

Toss potatoes, carrots, pumpkin, parsnips, bay leaves and thyme in remaining oil, season, then scatter on a second roasting tray. Reduce heat to 190°C fan-forced (210°C conventional). Add vegetables to oven with chicken and roast for 1 hour 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine zest with butter and a little salt. Beat well.

Remove chicken from oven (chicken is cooked when juices run clear when pierced in the hip), drizzle chicken with lemon juice; loosely cover with foil. Return both trays of vegetables to oven, bake for a further 15 minutes.

Stir walnuts, spinach and remaining parsley bunch leaves (picked) through vegetables. Serve chicken with vegies and lemon butter.

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Fast Ed Chef

'Fast' Ed Halmagyi is one of Australia’s best-loved TV chefs and food authors. For over a decade, Ed has appeared on television and radio, in newspapers, magazines and books.

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