Roasted Spatchcocked Chicken with Roast Vegetables

I love making roast chicken. Mainly because I can prepare ahead, and just chuck it into the oven later.  At my home breakfast is usually bread and the usual stuff such as crumpy /Nutella, peanut butter, honey and of course marmite. Lunch is simple, a curry and rice as the boys are quite hungry and it is just me and the boys. So dinner is where I really try to make something extra special.
So tonight I made this roast. I remembered seeing this lamb roast recipe on Jamie's Dinner so took a look at it. Adding a few touches of my own I made my version using a spatchcocked chicken.
I removed the skin, but leave the skin if you like. To roast I placed the vegetables in the tray then placed a wire rack on top and placed the chicken on it.  The taste was pretty good...


Recipe: Roasted Spatchcocked Chicken with Roast Vegetables inspired by Jamie Oliver's  Lamb with Chickpeas , yogurt and tray roast veg recipe on Jamie's Dinners.

1 whole chicken (1.4 kg)
Marinade :
            2 cups yogurt ( plain, )
            3 tsp coriander seeds
            1 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
            2-3 dried red chillies
            smoked paprika ( optional)
            2 cloves garlic
            3 tbsp chopped coriander leaves and stems
           salt
         
For the Vegetables :
             1 small butternut squash, unpeeled
             1 large carrot, peeled
             1 large potato, peeled
             1 whole garlic bulb, unpeeled
             1 big onion, peeled
             1 can chick peas, water drained and washed, drained. or  1 cup of cooked chickpeas
             2 tbsp olive oil
             salt
             juice of 1/2 lime


Heat a small dry frying pan over low heat, add the coriander seeds, cumin seeds and dried chillies and toast them till they release their aroma, cool and grind them to a powder.  Remove 1 tsp of this mixture. Add the rest into a blender along with yoghurt,  paprika if using, coriander leaves, garlic cloves ( the ones needed only for marinade)  and a pinch of salt. Blend to mix. everything up. Remove half a cup and place this in the refrigerator ( this is going to be the sauce to serve with the chicken).  Set the remaining aside till you get the chicken ready.

Skin the chicken and turn it on so the back is on top. Using a pair of kitchen scissors ( or a knife if you don't have one) cut the backbone off like this. You can take a look here on how to do it.

Turn the chicken over and press down on the chicken breast till you hear a slight crack.  Poke a few times on the flesh with the end of a sharp knife season with salt and place in a glass bowl or zip-lock bag.  Pour the yogurt mixture that you kept using as marinade onto the chicken give a good massage and marinate for a few hours.

While the chicken marinates prepare the vegetables: cut all the vegetables ( butternut, carrot, potatoes, onions) into equal-sized wedges.

Cook the potatoes in a small saucepan of water, seasoned with salt, for 10 minutes. They should be half-cooked, not completely. Drain and add the potatoes to a large bowl along with the rest of the vegetables and garlic clove. Add the chickpeas as well.  Sprinkle in salt, olive oil and the reserved 1 tsp of ground spice mix.  Mix with your hands. Arrange all the vegetables and chickpeas in a large baking or roasting tray in a single layer. For easy clean up line your tray with tin foil.

Preheat your oven to gas mark 5.  Take your chicken out of the refrigerator. Place a wire rack on top of the vegetable tray Don't throw away the marinade leave it aside. Take a small sheet of tin foil and loosely wrap around the chicken so it doesn't dry up, no need to do this if you left the skin on. Roast for about 30 minutes.

Then remove the whole tray, brush with chicken with the remaining marinade, and turn the vegetables so they caramelize on both sides.

Return the tray, this time without the aluminium foil on the tray, till the chicken is done.  Different sizes of chicken have different timings. If you are from Maldives, you will need another 15-20 minutes as we use frozen chicken and they take less time than fresh chicken.

Once the chicken and vegetables are done, remove from the oven cover the chicken again with tin foil and leave to rest on a plate. or chopping board for about 10 minutes before serving.

Serve with the vegetables and chickpeas with the reserved yoghurt sauce kept in the refrigerator earlier. Enjoy