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!

Thick Vegetable Soup with Pearl Barley

Similar to wheat in its caloric, protein, vitamin and mineral content, pearl barley is barley that has been processed to remove its hull and bran. All barley must have its fibrous outer hull removed before it can be eaten; pearl barley is then polished to remove the bran layer.

When I was a child in Ireland, our soups and stews often had pearl barley. We were a big family so I imagine it was so make the food go further to feed us all. But it seems to be making a comeback. I've seen it in restaurants made as a base with peas underneath a succulent fillet of fish.

On Saturday afternoon, as if often the case, we fancied soup as the weather was colder than we had hoped! Fortunately, I had soaked some barley the night before, in case that happened. You don't have to soak it for that long of course, its just easier, but it does cut down on the cooking time.

Ingredients:  (Serves 6)

70g peal barley, soaked overnight & drained
2 small leeks, cut in half lengthways and sliced
2 carrots, diced
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 large potato, peeled and chopped
1 tbsp. oil
25g butter
3 heaped tbsp. flour
1 litre lamb stock (cube is fine)
500ml vegetable stock (cube is fine)
large handful shredded cabbage
large handful frozen peas
salt & pepper

Method:

Heat the oil in a large saucepan and add the leeks, onion, garlic, carrots and potato. Then add the butter and melt, stirring. Add the flour and coat all of the vegetables. Cook for about 1 minute. Add the lamb stock in stages to incorporate well and let cook with the lid half on for about 10 minutes.

Add the vegetable stock, cabbage & peas and again leave to cook on a medium heat for 20 minutes. Add the pearl barley and season with salt and pepper. Give it another 5-10 minutes and you will see it thicken up beautifully. Serve with crusty rolls and an extra crack of black pepper. Delicious!