Herbed Roast Chicken with Spicy Potatoes & Tzatziki

Halloween night we knew that we would be up and down with the 'trick or treaters' (and oh goodness we were!). With that in mind, I wanted an easy dinner, but with my traditional roast of sorts. So I went into the garden - somewhat overgrown at the moment - with a bowl to see what I could gather. Basil, parsley, coriander, sage and thyme were carefully cut and put in the bowl. Then on a whim, I picked a few nasturtium and borage flowers (both edible) and added them.

Back in the kitchen I set to work and produced such a pretty dish it was hard to eat. Okay, we devoured it...but you know what I mean?!

Ingredients:

1 roasting chicken (1.6 kg)
a GOOD bunch of herbs (basil, parsley, coriander, sage etc.)
50g butter, softened
edible flower (if using)

Set the oven to 200 C and get a roasting tin ready. Prepare the chicken but gently putting your hand under the breast skin and lifting it away from the flesh. Chop the herbs well and mix with the butter until well combined. Put 2/3 of the mix under the skin and press around to cover as much of the breasts as possible. Rub the remaining 1/3 of the butter over the outer part, covering the legs and wings.

Put into the roasting tray, season with salt & pepper and cover with foil. Cook for 1 hour and 15 mins. Remove the foil and put back in for another 15 minutes. Let the chicken rest for a few minutes - its actually nice served 'warm' in this recipe.

For the potatoes:

Peel 3 medium potatoes and cut into 1/2 size of a normal roast potato. Put in a bowl and drizzle with oil. Add 2 tbsp. of any Cajun seasoning you like and toss to coat. Roast in the oven for about 30 minutes.

For the tzatziki:

Cut 1/2 cucumber in half and discard the seeds in the middle with a teaspoon. Grate the rest into the middle of a clean tea towel. Add 1 small grated clove garlic and season with salt & pepper. Now pull up the sides of the tea towel and twist, squeezing as much water out as you can. Pop in a bowl with about 200g low fat yoghurt & a squeeze of lemon juice. Stir well and refrigerate until ready to eat.

Serve the chicken on a platter with the potatoes sitting around it. A bowl of baby gem lettuce 'cups' and some tzatziki. I also steamed some broccoli for a bit of 'green',

The best way to eat this is to pop some chicken in the lettuce with a blob of tzatziki. Eat with the potatoes - definite finger food!

Note: Save some random herbs and scatter them over the chicken with some edible flowers if you can get your hands on some.. so pretty!