We first brought you a series of Back to School recipes in collaboration with the wonderful Lavender & Lovage. Today, Karen is here to share with you her perfect recipe for the iconic Sunday Lunch.
Enjoyed by many, Karen reminisces about Sunday mornings in the lead up to a family lunch…a late and lazy start to the day, coffee or tea with the Sunday papers, sat at the kitchen table in her slippers and dressing gown. The smell of cherry wood as the fire hisses and crackles, and the prospect of a family lunch together later.
Karen says, ‘I love Sundays, although that wasn’t always the case when I was younger and still at school, as Sunday was the last day of freedom before lessons, exams and such. We didn’t always have our main meal of the weekend on Sunday though, although I am an ardent admirer of the “Sunday lunch tradition”. Now with a family of my own, we sometimes have our “roast dinner” for a mid-week supper or on Saturday evening, if at all. But if I am cooking Sunday lunch for family and/or friends, there is one roast that always makes me feel cosy and contented, and that’s a roast chicken'.
Serves: 4 to 6
Preparation time: 5 mins plus 30 minutes allowing chicken to come to room temperature
Cooking time: 2 hours
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 x 1.5kg to 1.8kg organic Chicken
- 1 tablespoon Maldon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 lemon, quartered
- 3-4 garlic cloves
- 1 onion, peeled and quartered
- 3-4 sprigs of lemon thyme or bay leaves
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature.
DIRECTIONS:
- Preheat oven to 220C/425F/Gas mark 7
- Remove the chicken from the fridge 30 minutes before cooking. Pat it dry with a paper towel thensprinkle the inside of the cavity with half the salt and pepper. Stuff the cavity with the lemon, garlic, onion, and thyme or bay leaves.
- Mix in a small bowl the butter and the rest of the salt and pepper. Rub the bird all over with the butter mixture.
- Place the chicken in the pan and roast for 2 hours or until golden and crispy and the juices run clear.
- Let the bird rest for about 15 minutes before you carve it.
- Serve with roast potatoes, carrot purée, cauliflower cheese, seasonal greens and gravy.
All that is left to do is prepare your vegetables, serve upon your chosen Burleigh Pottery and enjoy.