Leek and Fennel Roast Chicken

Today's Sunday lunch was a Rachel Allen recipe for Leek and Fennel Roast Chicken. This is essentially a one-pot, stick-it-all-in-the-oven meal, that gives the satisfaction of a roast without all the hassle. It's also a much lighter option for the spring/summer months.

The original recipe serves 4. I have halved the ingredients here to serve two, but you can easily double them again if you have more people to feed!

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You will need:

1/2 a fennel bulb, trimmed and sliced

1 small leek, trimmed, halved lengthways, cleaned and cut into 2cm slices

4 chicken thighs, bone in and skin on

6 garlic cloves, skin on

8 small new potatoes, scrubbed clean

2 tarragon sprigs

approx 1 tbsp olive oil

Pre-heat oven to 200'c/Gas 6.

Miss P's Top Tip: Although not stated in the recipe, I would recommend par-boiling the potatoes first for 5 minutes before continuing. This ensures they cook in time with the rest of the dish. There's nothing worse than a hard undercooked potato! Drain, leave to cool, then follow the rest of the recipe as below:

Put all of the ingredients into a large bowl.

Pour over the oil, and toss together until everything is well coated. Add another splash of oil if required. Transfer it all to a roasting tin or dish. Season with salt and pepper.

Rachel's recipe says to roast in the oven for 25-30 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and the skin crispy. I must say however, this took almost an hour in my oven. This might just be my rubbish oven but its worth mentioning as you'll need to make sure the chicken is cooked all the way through. If the vegetables are starting to burn, cover the dish with foil to protect them.

Serve with a crisp green salad, and pour over all the delicious garlicky juices from the bottom of the dish.