Festive Roast Chicken with Roasted Stone Fruits

Festive Roast Chicken with Roasted Stone Fruits

This is the most simple dish to prepare and I promise you every one will be begging you for the recipe.

Preheat your oven to the temperature suggested on the Ingham chicken packaging.

1 Ingham chicken size 18

DIJON CRUST

5 Tablespoons of good Dijon style mustard.

1 Tablespoon ground rock salt.

3 Tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil.

1/2 tablespoon fresh cracked black pepper a dash of your favourite liquor such as Cointeau or Brandy. (optional ) Combine all above in a small bowl and rub it all over your chicken before roasting.

Stuff 2 washed tangelos - ( mandarins or oranges will do ) and fist of fresh thyme into cavity of the chicken.

Follow chicken cooking instructions.

Take 6 of each apricots, peaches, plums and nectarines.

Wash, cut in half and take stones out.

Peel 12 little pickling onions cut in half OR 6 red onions cut in quarters.

20 minutes before chicken is ready, carefully remove  from oven and pour or spoon out any hot fat in the tray. Toss in the stone fruits and onions, scatter a little ground rock salt and cracked pepper on fruit and return to oven.

The roasted fruits and onions you can serve on the side as a sauce, serve with all your favourite vegetables like new baby potatoes, green beans and garden fresh peas.

Split BBQ chilli chicken with toasted coconut and banana sambal  served with mango stars

Pre heat your BBQ and start cooking chilli chicken as per instructions.

TOASTED COCONUT WITH BANANA SAMBAL.

1 brown de-husked coconut OR 1 @ 1/2 cups dried coconut - threads, flakes or desiccated.

2 large firm bananas.

1 large lime, washed. rind removed and chopped fine, and juiced.

a fistful of coriander and mint leaves, chopped finely.

1 smallish red chilli minced.

a good pinch of sea salt OR dash of thai FISH SAUCE if you have some.

Crack your coconut open on the concrete outside, drain off the juice - and enjoy.

With a small blunt knife flick out the coconut fresh and toast the chunks on the BBQ., when cool, grate with a simple everyday cheese grater.

OR simply dry toast the 1 @ 1/2 cups of dried coconut over a low heat in a heavy black pan or non stick pan, stirring constantly till toasted golden.

Add all the other ingredients except the banana, which you slice and add right before you eat so it doesn't brown.

Stir and taste test, add more chilli and lime juice if you like.

MANGO STARS

With a large sharp chefs knife slice thru the mango running the side of the knife along the mango stone. You should have two large discs of mango. With the tip of your knife cut crisscross thru the fresh down to the skin, but not thru the skin. Now press your thumb up into the skin and the mango will invert looking like a star, making a fabulous garnish for your chilli chicken dish.

Tanah has owned three hugely successful restaurants and her own film catering company, Stars.