Roast Chicken with Garlic, Lemon and Thyme and Dauphinoise Potatoes
Roast Chicken with Garlic, Lemon and Thyme, together with my healthier version of Dauphinoise Potatoes, make a fantastic and easy Sunday lunch.
The chicken will be very garlicky, with the flavour enhanced by the lemon and thyme. I have toned down the garlic in the Dauphinoise potatotes but feel free to increase it if you are feeding lots of garlic lovers! Dauphinoise Potatoes make a great accompaniment to roast meat but also are popular with vegetarians. Soft potatoes, flavoured with thyme and garlic, with a crispy top – who wouldn’t want this with their Sunday lunch?
My version is a lighter, and healthier, version of the traditional recipe for Dauphinoise potatoes which uses cream (or a mix of milk and cream). I just use milk as I find the traditional version is too rich and heavy. The milk gets absorbed by the potatoes, along with the flavours of the garlic and thyme. When people eat this dish, they often think that there is cheese included, although there isn’t, because of the way the milk reduces. This is also a very accommodating dish as it is made in advance and it is happy sitting in a warm oven if more time is needed for other elements of your meal.
Roast Chicken with Garlic, Lemon and Thyme
PrintRoast Chicken with Garlic, Lemon and Thyme
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 120
- Total Time: 2 hours 15 minutes
- Yield: for 6 people 1x
- Category: Chicken
- Cuisine: English
Description
Crispy-skinned roast chicken, flavoured with garlic, lemon and thyme – who wouldn’t want this for Sunday lunch?
Ingredients
- 1 chicken
- Sprig of thyme
- 1 lemon
- 4 cloves of garlic (crushed)
- 125 g butter (softened)
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Set your oven to 180 C, 350 F or Gas Mark 4.
- Remove the thyme leaves from the woody stems (keep the stems) and put them in a small bowl. Add the grated zest of your lemon along with the crushed garlic. Put your softened butter into the bowl and mash to combine with the other ingredients. Season with salt and pepper.
- Loosen the skin on your chicken’s breast by gently pushing your fingers under it. Push half of the flavoured butter under the skin. Smear the other half of the butter all over the chicken.
- Quarter your zested lemon and put this in the chicken’s cavity along with the thyme stems.
- Place your chicken in the roasting pan and cover with foil.
- Place your chicken in the oven. The time that it will take to roast will depend on its size but will probably be between one and a half and two hours. Remove the foil for the last 30 minutes of cooking time.
- When it is done, remove the chicken from the roasting pan and put it on a warm plate, covered with foil, to rest for 10 minutes.
- If you want gravy, you can use the following method. Pour the juices from the roasting pan into a measuring jug or similar container. The juices will settle within a minute or so with the fat rising to the surface. Take two tablespoons of the fat and return them to the roasting pan. Add two tablespoons of plain flour. Stir together and cook over a low heat for a few minutes. Add the rest of the chicken juices to the roasting pan together with some hot water (either from the kettle or water used to cook vegetables is great). Allow to bubble for a few minutes and then pour into a gravy boat or jug to serve.
Dauphinoise Potatoes
PrintDauphinoise Potatoes
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 60
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Yield: for 6 people 1x
- Category: Potatoes
- Cuisine: English
Description
Crisp on the top, soft and creamy underneath, and flavoured with garlic and thyme, these potatoes are fantastic with roast meat or grilled fish.
Ingredients
- 1 kilo potatoes
- Sprig of thyme
- 1 clove of garlic
- 500 ml milk
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Set your oven to 180 C, 350 F or Gas Mark 4.
- Butter the oven-proof dish
- Peel and slice the potatoes thinly into disks
- Put a layer of potato disks in the dish. Dot with knobs of butter. Season with salt and pepper – it is really important to season every layer. Sprinkle with a few thyme leaves and a little crushed garlic. I prefer this dish to have a whisper of garlic so only use one clove throughout but feel free to increase the amount of garlic if you like!
- Repeat step 3 until the dish is filled.
- Pour the milk into the dish.
- Put the dish into your oven and cook for around 1 hour. At the end of this time, the potatoes should be soft, and most of the milk should have been absorbed, and the top should be crisp and golden.