Bank Holiday, Some Lindeman Wine and a Roast, Spanish Style! - Pot Roast Spanish Chicken #capturethesunshine

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I didn't really rate bank holidays when I was younger; they became increasingly more appealing when as a student I could work them and get double time to keep myself in weird clothing and Victorian literature, but that was where their allure ended. Until now, that is. Bank Holidays are a little gift which says to you - yes, here is a day off to do what you want with, and the proceeding week is only a four day week so blink and it is Friday again. If only every week started with a Bank Holiday...

 

But, alas, Bank Holidays are all too few and far between and for that reason they must be made the most of, whether it is simply doing nothing because you can, going out and doing something completely different, or inviting a few people around, opening a bottle of wine and cooking something really tasty that fills the house with mouth watering smells. Which is why this weekend I cooked Pot Roast Spanish Chicken, accompanied by Lindeman's 95 Sauvignon Blanc, and filled the house with the chatter of people catching up with the gossip, the clatter of forks and spoons, and the clinking of glasses to toast what was a day of good mood and good food.

 

I adapted this recipe from my recently acquired 'Ginger Pig' Farmhouse cookbook which is full of alsorts of amazing recipes that I cannot wait to try. I cut down the chilli heat of the dish to factor in the fact that there were children around, so the sauce as a result gave a lazy warmth which went well with both the wine and the children. Because of my love of garlic, I mushed the slow cooked cloves of garlic into the winey, chickeny sauce to create something really rather unctuous and full flavoured.

 

I served this with roasties and lots of bon homie. Now, what to cook next Bank Holiday???

 

Pot Roasted Spanish Chicken, adapted from 'Ginger Pig Farmhouse Cookbook' by Tim Wilson and Fran Warde.

 

Feeds Lola, Finn, Mum, Dad x 2 (8 people)

 

Ingredients:

 

3kg (6lb 8oz) good-quality chicken

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp sweet paprika

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

.

For the bed of vegetables

 

3 onions, peeled and cut into quarters

3 carrots, peeled and cut into quarters

3 large tomatoes, cut into quarters

2 red chillies, cut into quarters (I used one chilli and scraped the seeds out)

2 heads of garlic, cut in half horizontally (I used only one, but it was truly HUGE!!)

3 red peppers, deseeded and cut into chunks

2 bay leaves

2 sprigs of thyme

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

400ml (14fl oz) Lindeman's Sauvignon Blanc wine

300g (10½oz) black olives, stoned (I decided, reluctantly, to leave them out...)
Parsley, for scattering over

 

Method:

 

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4.

 

Put all the ingredients for the bed of vegetables into a large lidded casserole dish.(I actually used a large roasting tin which I then covered tightly with foil to create the steam).

 

Mix well.

 

Rub the chicken all over with the olive oil. Sprinkle with the paprika and seasoning and rub these into the chicken too.

 

Place the chicken in the dish on top of the vegetables and cover with a tight-fitting lid. (I refer you to how I cooked mine above.

 

Place in the oven for 1½ hours, then remove the lid and cook for a further 20 minutes to crisp up the skin. At this point I removed the chicken to a separate place to rest, whilst I reduced the sauce in the bottom of the roasting tin on top of the hob. Then, as described above, I squeezed the soft garlic out of its skin and mashed it into the sauce.

Serve the pot roast chicken immediately with rice or pasta....or roast potatoes and a glass or two of Lindeman's Sauvignon Blanc!