I uploaded a pic of our dinner today on Google+ and Stratos asked for the recipe. That is to say he actually threatened that he would have a heart attack if I didn’t share it. Fine. You know me, I’m here for my friends.

What you need to know about this recipe is that roasted chicken with potatoes is one of the most frequent things we have in Greece. It is considered ideal for a family Sunday lunch so after a few years you are sick and tired of it. So I just gave the recipe a little twist to make it more interesting.

Additionally I had various winter vegetables at home today which were near their expiration date and a whole chicken so it was worth the try.

Lo and behold, I ended up with roasted chicken with mustard marinade and winter vegetables

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 chicken, about 1.5 kilos, tender and whole
• Any winter vegetables you have lying around. Onion, leek, carrot, turnip, swede, stuff like that.
• Chestnut mushrooms. The depth of their flavor lifts the whole thing up.
• 4 tablespoons american type mustard (I know the brand but I’m trying to be good)
• 4 tablespoons good quality olive oil
• 4 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 cup of water
• salt
• pepper
• oregano

METHOD:

Pre-heat your oven 250 Celsius (or whatever the maximum temperature is).

In a glass oven pan (or dish or whatever) place all your vegetables cut in small chunks – about three fingers’ width.

Place the chestnut mushrooms over the vegetables. Keep them whole if they are small or medium.

Season the whole thing.

In a glass stir together the mustard, lemon juice and olive oil. Add salt, pepper and oregano. Incorporate well.

This is basically your marinade. Literally bathe the chicken, not forgetting the inside – I assume you are not squeamish if you are cooking so get your hand up its bum too. If you’ve got time cover and leave in the fridge all night. If you don’t have time – like I didn’t today – just place it strategically on top of the vegetables.

Pour any remaining marinade over the vegetables.

Pour about 1 cup of water. Enough to almost cover the vegetables.

Tip: Always pour water in the corner. Otherwise you’ll wash off the marinade.

Oil some kitchen foil from the side that will touch the food and cover the whole pan. Not too tight, there should be some breathing space.

Place in the oven for 10 minutes on your top temperature. After 10 minutes lower to 220 Celsius and leave it alone for about an hour.

After an hour take off the kitchen foil. The chicken should be a very light pink and there should also be enough water in the pan. If not, add some water.

Leave it in the oven in the same temperature for about half an hour more. After that the chicken should be a deep brown in most places.

Take it out of the oven and leave to rest for about 5 minutes.

Cut in pieces and serve with the vegetables. If you’ve chosen hard winter vegetables they’ll still be in one piece instead of mashed. Pour some of the juice from the pan over your plate so that the chicken will soak up some more of that goodness.

Bon apetit!

Stratos? Still alive?