Serves four
Ingredients
- 1.6kg chicken, preferably free-range
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- black pepper
- small bunch of fresh thyme
- knob of butter
- 1 head of broccoli
- 4 carrots, peeled and sliced
- 1.2kg potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
Method
Take your chicken out of the fridge 30 minutes before it goes into the oven. Preheat your oven to 240 degrees C. Drizzle the chicken with olive oil and season well with salt and pepper, rubbing it all over. Put the bunch of herbs inside the chicken’s cavity along with a knob of butter.
Place the chicken in a roasting tray and put it into the preheated oven. Turn the heat down immediately to 200 degrees C and cook the chicken for an hour and 20 minutes. Baste the chicken halfway through cooking.
Meanwhile, make the roast potatoes. Add the potatoes to a large pan of boiling water. Cook on a high heat for about 10 minutes until the outside of the potatoes starts to break down slightly. Drain in a colander and leave to steam dry for a couple of minutes. Then toss the colander a few times to fluff up the potatoes.
Add four tablespoons of olive oil to a roasting tray. Put the tray in the top of your oven to heat up. Once hot, carefully tip the potatoes into the tray. The fat may spit, but once it’s stopped spitting, coat the potatoes with the fat. Season with salt and pepper and cook in the oven, basting now and then, for 45 to 50 minutes.
Chop the florets from the broccoli. Bring a large pan of water to the boil, add the sliced carrots, bring back to the boil and then simmer for five minutes. Add the florets and allow to simmer for a further five minutes. You could also steam the broccoli above the carrots. Set aside a few florets for your baby’s mash (see below).
Take the tray with the chicken out of the oven and transfer to a board to rest for 15 minutes. You can check it’s cooked by inserting a skewer or sharp knife into where the thigh joins the body. The juices should run clear. Cover the chicken with a layer of foil and a tea towel.
For you, slice the chicken and serve with the potatoes and vegetables.
For your baby: broccoli and polenta mash
Serves one
This vegetarian meal has only two main ingredients, but look how full of goodness it is for your baby. She’ll get iron, betacarotene, B vitamins and vitamin C from eating it.
Ingredients
- 50g fine polenta
- 400ml water
- 2 large florets broccoli
Method
Mix the polenta with the water and bring to the boil, stirring all the time. Simmer, stirring regularly, for 10 minutes until the corn is cooked. Meanwhile steam the broccoli until tender and drain. Blend both ingredients together into a suitable consistency.
