Flat roast chook with salsa verde

Maintaining sanity throughout a busy week heavily relies on planning, but when the weekend arrives, creativity in the kitchen can sometimes feel elusive. That's when my fail-proof solution comes to the rescue: buying a chicken and roasting it. The process of roasting becomes an engaging activity, and by the time the chicken is cooked, the rest of the meal typically comes together.

Credit: Jiwon Kim

• serves

  4

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  45 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 400 g baby potatoes, cut into 1 cm wedges
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 lemon, juice and zest
• 1 cup (250 ml) chicken broth
• 1.2 kg spatchcock chicken
• 1 tbsp sea salt flakes
• 200 g baby green beans

For the salsa verde

• ¼ cup rosemary
• ½ bunch chives
• ½ cup flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 cup olive oil
• 1 tsp white wine vinegar

Resting time: 10 minutes

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 200˚C fan-forced. In a large baking tray, combine the potatoes, olive oil, lemon juice, zest and chicken broth and toss well to combine.

2. Push the potatoes to the outer edges and nestle the chicken, skin side up, into the centre of the tray. Sprinkle with the salt, then roast for 45 minutes, rotating the tray halfway through.

3. Meanwhile, combine the salsa verde ingredients in a blender and process for 1 minute, or until smooth. Season well with salt and set aside.

4. Once the chicken is cooked through and potatoes have started to crisp on the edges, remove from the oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Place the baby beans into a large bowl and cover with boiling water, then drain after 1 minute, or until when bright green, then transfer to the roasting tray with the chicken and potatoes.

5. Use kitchen scissors to cut the chicken into portions, then serve the chicken, potatoes and green beans with the salsa verde.

Photography by Jiwon Kim.

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Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.