First up, the ultimate low carb Roast Chicken recipe…
Okay, I guess pretty much anyone who cooks regularly knows how to roast a chicken. But if you’re going low carb, you might well be a little lost about what to do now that a roast chicken dinner doesn’t include a mound of roast potatoes or bread sauce. Well, here’s the ultimate low carb chicken dinner…
I bring you Harissa Roast Chicken and Veg…
What you need…
One plump chicken – assorted vegetables chopped in a very chunky stylee (think quartered peppers and onions and similar sized chunks for everything else) – five or six garlic cloves left whole and unpeeled – a few tablespoons of good quality harissa – a couple of teaspoons of cumin seeds – a teaspoon of chili flakes – one lemon quartered – salt, pepper and a few tablespoons of olive oil.
With regards to the veg – anything goes! Though NOT potatoes or too much starchy stuff. This time around I threw in a carrot and leek per person, red and green peppers, onion and a few halved tomatoes. Use what you fancy and what you like. Eggplant would be good (though Dave hates it!). Likewise squash, zucchini, mushrooms, sweet potato (not too much though low carbers), bulb fennel and more.
What you do…
Roasting a chicken is hardly rocket science – and if you haven’t done it before WHY NOT? Anyways here’s the cooking plan…
- First up make sure you get the chicken out of the refrigerator at least half an hour before it is going to start cooking. You need it to be at room temperature when you start or your timings are going to be all over the place.
- Preheat the oven to 360ºF (180ºC).
- Arrange your chunky vegetables in a large roasting tin. Mix with a tablespoon of olive oil, harissa, the cumin, chili flakes and half the lemon.
- Now pop the chicken on top. Rub the remaining harissa and oil over the bird. Pop half the lemon up its bottom and season the whole lot with some salt and pepper.
- Bung it in the heated oven for around 20 minutes per pound, plus an extra 30 minutes. Around half way through give the veggies a good stir around and baste the bird. The chicken is done when the juices are clear with no hint of pink. Test it where the thigh joins the body.
- When the bird is done get that out of the oven, and allow it to rest for 10 minutes or so before carving. Whilst that’s happening put the veggies back in the oven and whack the heat up if you feel they could do with a little more color.
- There will be lots of lemony, spicy juices in the pan that taste great spooned over the sliced chicken.
Served with butter beans warmed through with a little garlic and lemon juice.
