Lime and Paprika Roast Chicken with Leeks

One Pot Sunday Roast

Jan 26, 2009 Elizabeth Gregory

This delicious recipe livens up a plain roast chicken and makes the most of plentiful winter leeks.

Serves six as a substantial main dish. It's worth cooking the same size chicken for a smaller number of diners as cold leftovers are delicious - just reduce the number of leeks.

Ingredients

1 x 2.5kg chicken, free range if you can afford it - the flavour really is better. Remove and discard any giblets
8 large leeks
1 lime
6 large carrots
1 large head of broccoli
half a pint of chicken or vegetable stock, made up from a stock cube
1 x teaspoon paprika
1 x teaspoon olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees centigrade.
Put the chicken in a large roasting tin. Cut the lime in half and squeeze over the top of the chicken, and then place the squeezed halves inside the cavity of the chicken. Mix the paprika with the olive oil and smear over the top of the chicken, adding a little salt and some freshly ground black pepper.
Put the chicken in the oven - in total, a chicken this size should take just over 2 hours to cook, depending on your oven. The chicken will cook slightly quicker than normal as the lime will get hot and cook the chicken from the inside.
Meanwhile, prepare your leeks by washing them thoroughly. Discard the root end and the tough leaves from the top, and chop the white trunk of the leek into very thick slices - around an inch and a half thick.
Once the chicken has been cooking for around an hour, add the leeks to the roasting tin and arrange so they are spaced evenly round the chicken. You shouldn't need to add any additional oil as the chicken will let out some fat as it cooks.
Half an hour before the end of the chicken's cooking time, make up the stock and add to the pan, giving everything a good shake so that nothing is stuck to the bottom.
Meanwhile, peel and slice the carrots and break the broccoli into florets. Steam or boil as preferred - steaming should take around ten minutes so don't do this until the chicken is almost ready.
After two hours, check whether the chicken is cooked by inserting a knife into the fattest part of the thigh - if the juice runs clear, then the chicken is ready. There should be a thin gravy formed at the bottom of the pan - if you want a thicker gravy then follow step ten.
Carve the chicken and remove the roast vegetables from the pan.
If thickening the gravy, plate up the chicken and vegetables and put back into the oven (now turned off) to keep warm. Put the pan of gravy onto the hob and turn to a high heat. Boil the gravy vigorously and stir in a little plain flour, beating continuously so lumps don't form.
Serve the chicken and roast vegetables with the steamed carrots and broccoil, with the gravy in a jug on the side.

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