Tastes like home.
It might seem cliché for a Brit to choose roast chicken as their staple, but for me, it’s a reliable companion. I love using cabbage and frozen peas – their vibrant green hues bring the plate to life. A final stir of crème fraîche adds a creamy richness, eliminating the need for a separate sauce.
Samuel says…
I’m often asked what sparked my culinary journey, and I usually give a long-winded answer about family, school and how cooking was the only thing I was ever truly good at. But if I’m honest, it probably started with my grandfather.
He trained as a chef, left for a different career, and then found his way back to the kitchen. He always warned me against becoming a cook, insisting it was badly paid. Naturally, after nearly a decade of teaching, I ignored his advice and took the plunge.
One dish he often made was roast chicken. His version was unapologetically packed with garlic – at least a whole head, half crushed and tucked under the skin with oil, the other half smashed and used as a marinade. He’d flip the chicken breast-side down, letting it soak up the flavours before roasting. The result? An intense, mouthwatering aroma – though I once learned the hard way that it’s not the best prelude to a hot yoga class.
I still make roast chicken, sometimes going full garlic in his honour. More often, though, I take a simpler route, cooking the vegetables alongside to save on washing up. I love using cabbage and frozen peas – their vibrant green hues bring the plate to life. A final stir of crème fraîche adds a creamy richness, eliminating the need for a separate sauce.
It might seem cliché for a Brit to choose roast chicken as their staple, but for me, it’s a reliable companion. It’s been there when I’ve needed to stretch a budget (a whole bird goes a long way when portioned out), on special occasions (perfect for an intimate Christmas), and when I’ve simply craved comfort.
It seems fitting that I’m writing this on the evening of my grandfather’s passing. Next time, he won’t be the one carving the chicken. But I’ll be thinking of him – and I just might go full garlic. I’ll skip the hot yoga, though.
Ingredients
Serves 4-6
1 whole chicken (around 1.5kg)
2 red onions, cut into wedges
½ bunch of thyme sprigs
4 garlic cloves, bashed
2–3 tablespoons vegetable oil
175ml white wine
250ml chicken stock
1 cabbage, sliced
250g frozen peas
100g crème fraiche
Method
Preheat the oven to 220°C/200°C fan. Place the chicken in a large roasting tin or sheet pan, then scatter around 1½ of the red onions. Stuff the remaining onion inside the cavity of the bird.
Put a few thyme sprigs in the cavity with the onion, and scatter the remaining sprigs around the chicken in the tin. Put 2 garlic cloves in the cavity and the other two around the chicken.
Rub the oil into the chicken skin, then season it well with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Pour the wine and half the stock into the pan around the chicken.
Roast the chicken in the hot oven for 20 minutes – the chicken should be starting to brown nicely at this point. Turn down the heat to 180°C/160°C fan and roast for a further 40–50 minutes or until the chicken is almost done. A temperature probe should reach around 65°C at this point.
Carefully lift the chicken out of the pan, then mix the cabbage into the pan’s onion mixture and pour in the remaining stock. Put the chicken back on top and cook for a further 20 minutes. Check the chicken and, if it’s cooked, remove it and rest it. The juices should run clear and a temperature probe should read over 70°C.
Stir the frozen peas and crème fraîche into the cabbage mixture. Cook for a further 5–10 minutes or until the peas are warmed through and tender, and the cabbage is cooked, too.
THE FROZEN PEAS COOKBOOK BY SAMUEL GOLDSMITH IS OUT NOW.
Published in ed#739