Mustard roast chicken recipe

A mildly piquant chicken roasted with vegetables, this one-pot dinner is perfect for a weekend lunch or when entertaining friends and family

Ingredients

• 60g (2oz) butter
• 3tsp made English mustard
• Approx. 1.75kg (3½lb) chicken
• 8 shallots (or 4 small onions)
• 4 fat cloves of garlic
• 600ml (1 pint) chicken stock
• 200g (7oz) small button mushrooms
• 12 baby tomatoes
• Chicken gravy granules
• Flat-leaf parsley, to garnish

Method

1. Set the oven to 200°C, gas mark 6.
2. Soften the butter and blend in the mustard. Loosen the chicken skin from the flesh on both sides of the breast. Spread most of the butter evenly under the skin, and the rest over the legs and wings. Put in a roasting tin.
3. Blanch the shallots, or onions and garlic, in boiling water for 3 mins. Drain, then cool under running water and peel off the skin. Put into the roasting tin with the chicken. Pour in the stock.
4. Cook the chicken, in the lower half of the oven, for 40 mins per kg, plus an extra 30 mins. Check that it’s cooked by inserting a skewer into the thickest part of the thigh. The juices should run clear; if not, cook for longer. Baste bird and onions occasionally during cooking.
5. Transfer the chicken to a hot platter, cover with foil and keep it warm for 10-15 mins.
6. Pour all but about 3tbsp of the roasting-tin juices into a small pan, put over a high heat and boil it rapidly to reduce it slightly.
7. Meanwhile, add the mushrooms to the roasting tin, cook in the oven for 5 mins, then add the tomatoes and cook for a further 5 mins.
8. Thicken stock with the gravy granules. Put chicken back in the tin to serve, or spoon cooked vegetables on to the platter with chicken on top and garnish with parsley.