SERVES 4

1 x 1,35 kg | 3lb roasting chicken with giblets
Butter
Freshly ground black pepper and salt
1 slice of onion
1 bay leaf
A few parsley stalks

For the gravy
1 scant tablespoon plain flour
290 ml| ½ pint white stock, made with chicken bones or vegetable water

1. Preheat the oven to 200 deg C | 400 deg F | gas mark 6
2. Smear a little butter all over the chicken. Season inside and out with pepper only (no salt). Put the bird breast side down in a roasting pan.
3. Put all the chicken giblet (except the liver) and the neck into the pan with the chicken. Add the onion, bay leaf and parsley stalks. Pour in a cup of water. Roast for 30 minutes.
4. Take out of the oven, season all over with salt, turn the chicken right side up and baste it with the fat juices from the pan. Return to the oven.
5. Check the chicken periodically. It will take 60 – 80 minutes. It is cooked when the leg bones wobble loosely and independently from the body. Baste occasionally as it cooks, and cover with kitchen foil or greaseproof paper if it is browning too much. Remove the cooked chicken to a warmed serving dish and keep warm while making the gravy.
6. Place the roasting pan with its juices over a low heat. Skim off most of the fat.
7. Mix a tablespoon of the fat to flour to make a paste.
8. Add the stock or vegetable water and whisk the past into the stock. Stir until the sauce boils. Simmer for 2-3 minutes. Check the seasoning. Strain into a warmed gravy boat and serve with chicken.

WINE: Light Red

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Excerpt from Leiths Cookery Bible

[Leith, P., and Waldegrave, C., (2003), Leiths Cookery Bible, 3rd edition, Bloomburys, UK]