ROAST CORN FED FREE RANGE CHICKEN

For our Sunday Roast I bought a lovely corn fed free range chicken.  It looks so different from the white tasteless chicken you see sitting on the supermarket shelves!  Although it is considerably more expensive than the run of the mill supermarket chicken it is worth every penny.  The flavour will be totally unsurpassed.  For the stuffing I used wholemeal breadcrumbs, chopped parsley and thyme, finely chopped shallot and lemon peel.  I mixed this well with a little boiling water and seasoned with salt and freshly ground black pepper and a good knob of butter.  Rather than stuff the bird, I made stuffing balls to cook separately.

To prepare the chicken for the oven I wiped the cavity with kitchen roll then smeared butter across the breast before seasoning well with salt and pepper. Two rashers of back bacon were laid on the breast to keep it moist and to add flavour.  In the bottom of the roasting pan I placed a quartered onion, clove of garlic, pieces of carrot and celery then placed the bird on top.  This adds to the flavour and will be used to make and enrich the gravy.



The chicken on a bed of vegetables in the oven



When the chicken was cooked I removed it from the oven and left it to rest for fifteen minutes (covered lightly with foil).  This makes it easier to carve.

Remove from pan and leave to rest

To make the gravy.

Pour off the fat and make the gravy
in this pan

Pour off most of the fat from the roasting pan and stir in a tablespoon of plain flour.  Stir over a gentle heat until the flour has absorbed the juices, gradually add hot stock stirring all the time. The vegetables cooked under the chicken can either be removed or mashed/sieved into the gravy.  They give a wonderful flavour as they will have caramelized during the time the chicken was roasting.

I used potatoes, shallot,  parsley and thyme from the garden and  picked the last of the runner beans. It is wonderful to be able to gather the fresh herbs and use them immediately.

Chicken removed from the oven

I served the roasted chicken with the stuffing balls, cocktail sausages, roast potatoes, runner beans and cauliflower. Accompanied by the delicious gravy.

Wonderful!

For dessert I made a traditional Devonshire dish, Junket and Devonshire clotted cream.  Junket is simplicity itself to make. Just heat some milk with sugar to taste until steam rises from the pan, pour into individual bowls and stir in one teaspoonful of rennet*.  Leave to cool and set - about half an hour.  Serve with grated nutmeg on the top and clotted or double cream.  Yummy!

Devonshire Junket and Clotted Cream

* Rennet can be purchased from the Chemist (Stones essence of rennet).  This is what is used to make the curds in cheese making.