- 1 small whole chicken
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 kg potatoes, peeled and quartered
- 1 tbsp dried mixed herbs
- 225g (8oz) chantenay carrots, trimmed
- 225g (8oz) parsnips, peeled and quartered
- 1 butternut squash, peeled and cut into large chunks
- 2 red onions, peeled and quartered
- Sea salt and black pepper
With all the ingredients cooked in around an hour and a half it's pretty quick and as the entire meal is cooked in one dish it saves on washing-up too!
It's not often that a dish is both delicious and good for you but this roast chicken recipe ticks both boxes. Of all meats chicken is one of the healthiest, being low in fat, yet high in protein. An average portion of roast chicken contains around half our daily requirement of protein, while the carrots and butternut squash contain beta carotene and carotenoids which help protect us from free-radical damage and boost our immune systems. Cooking these vegetables helps our bodies use the beta carotene. You can't have a roast without roast potatoes and while they don't count towards our five-a-day, they are a good source of carbohydrate, fibre, B vitamins, potassium and vitamin C.
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Pour some oil into a non-stick roasting tin, place in the oven for 5 minutes. Add the potatoes to the tin and shake it. Add the chicken, sprinkle with herbs. Roast for 15 minutes. Remove the tin from the oven and turn the potatoes. Add the carrots, parsnips, squash and onion to the roasting tin. Roast for 45 minutes, basting the chicken with the juices occasionally. Remove the chicken from the oven, cover and rest for 10 minutes. Return the tin to the oven and cook the vegetables for 10 more minutes. Return the chicken to the tin and serve.
