You
will Need
2 or 3 heads
garlic, separated into cloves, unpeeled
1 large chicken,
about 2.5kg/5½lb
½ bottle Cava
1 bunch rosemary
2 blood
oranges, cut into wedges
100g/3½oz
good-quality French butter, sliced
For make gravy
knob butter
½ bottle Cava
1 bottle
dry white wine (to taste)
small
handful fresh tarragon
salt and
freshly ground black pepper
How
to Cook
- Preheat the oven to 150C/300F/Gas 2.
- Scatter the cloves of garlic (still in their skins) into a roasting tin. Scatter half of the rosemary and half of the blood orange on top.
- Insert the remaining orange and rosemary into the cavity of the chicken and gently slide slices of the butter under the skin, being careful not to pierce it.
- Place the chicken breast-side up on top of the garlic in the roasting tin.
- Pour over half a bottle of Cava and cover with aluminum foil.
- Transfer to the oven and roast for 1½ hours.
- After 1½ hours cooking time, carefully remove the foil and, using tongs, turn the chicken upside down and baste with the meaty juices from the tin.
- Cook the chicken for a further 20 minutes to brown the underside, before turning the chicken back to the original position.
- Baste the chicken again. Turn the oven up to 180C/350F/Gas 4 and cook until the chicken is browned all over - you will know when the chicken is cooked as the juices will run clear when the chicken is pierced with a skewer.
- When the chicken is cooked, remove the chicken from the tin and leave to rest in a warm place.
- For the gravy, remove the garlic skins, rosemary and blood oranges with a slotted spoon and discard - if any soft garlic clove remains in the skins, carefully slip the soft garlic clove out of the peel and into a clean pan. Pour the cooking juices into the pan along with all the soft garlic cloves.
- Add half a bottle of Cava to the pan. Simmer over a medium heat. When the volume begins to diminish, add white wine to taste (up to a bottle - though you may want to drink a glass or two from the bottle) and sprinkle in the tarragon. Leave the gravy to simmer gently until reduced by half. Just before serving, whisk in a knob of butter.
- Meanwhile, carve the chicken into generous portions.
- Serve the chicken with the gravy.
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