ONE TRAY SPATCHCOCKED CHICKEN WITH JAMMY HERBY RICE

A WINNER OF A CHICKEN DINNER

Hi!

And welcome back to COME FOR SUPPER.

I’ve written before about my love for a one tray dinner party dish. I am well aware of their association with the ‘mid-week supper’ and I am all for it. But I am also believer that the one tray dish makes for a GREAT dinner party. The greatest dinner parties in my eyes are the ones that, yes have great food on the table, preferably alongside some good wine or a sexy little cocktail. But they’re also the ones where the host is as relaxed as the guests around the table. The best dinner parties are those where there is no panic in the kitchen or slightly awkward ‘do we, don’t we start’ murmers between guests as the host is doing handstands over something complicated in the kitchen.

No, the greatest dinner parties are the ones where everyone gets to have fun and take the edge off a little and that means you too!

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This chicken recipe is incredibly simple but my god it is good. You start by giving the fennel a bit of colour in the oven then add the rice, white wine and some other bits, including an entire bulbs worth of garlic (which may seem a lot but believe me, when it is jammy and golden and you’re smooshing it into your rice, you’ll be wishing there was more). The chicken cooks on top of the rice, and as it cooks its gorgeous fatty juices trickle down adding flavour as the skin crisps up on top. As the chicken rests a LOAD of herbs get stirred through the rice (along with any crispy bits of rice that have caramelised around the edges of the pan ….I am salivating as I write this). Carve up the chicken and serve it alongside the rice which is now jammy and sticky and flecked with green. I like a simple green salad on the side or you could make my baby gem, pea and parmesan salad if you like.

If you’re new here, scroll down to find the written recipe and scroll ALL the way down for the printable PDF where you’ll also find some MUSIC TO COOK TO. This one is for paid subscribers. If that’s you already, thank you!! Your support goes right back into my work developing recipes, shooting videos, and writing about all of it.

THE RECIPE

ONE TRAY SPATCHCOCKED CHICKEN WITH JAMMY HERBY RICE

serves 6

• 2 small fennel

• 300g brown basmati rice

• 1 Whole garlic bulb