Mosimann’s Perfect Gluten-Free Roast Chicken

As its Sunday I thought I’d share with you my favourite roast chicken recipe. Over the last 10 years I haven’t cooked this for anyone without being asked for the recipe, which for me is a personal best.

This fantastic simple and delicious recipe never fails to deliver a suculent and perfectly roasted chicken.

The ironic thing about this dish is that I wouldn’t have the confidence to try this if I hadn’t read it in a cook book because it is so simple and yet often the best dishes are, mais bien sûr. But still we hold on to a belief that cooking has to be hard work and we have to morph in to our own versions of a sweary, bad tempered, wanna be mitchelin stared chef for anything to be good. This dish however proves how wrong this belief is and that after peeling a few veg and arranging them in a pot with a chicken you can put your feet up and enjoy the papers with a glass of wine whilst dinner looks after itself!

Whats more the simplicity of cooking all the ingredients together in one pot means its easy on the clearing up too and if you do have any left overs you can make a delicious soup by simply adding some stock heating it all up and then blitzing it together in a food processor or with an electric hand blender.

I found this recipe in a book I inherited from my mother; ‘Cooking with Mosimann, The Cook Book of the TV Series’ Anton Mosimann published in 1989. The back cover describes it as “The Cookbook that brings the Mosimann touch to the kitchen of ordinary mortals!”

Today Chef Anton Mosimann not only has his private dinning club Mossiman’s in Belgravia but is a favourite chef of the Royals, having cooked at Princess Diana’s wedding to Prince Charles he also recently cooked at the dinner at the wedding of Kate and William, the Queen’s Golden Jubilee and Prince Charles’ 50th birthday. He also holds a Royal Warrant of Appointment from the Prince of Wales.

The original recipe uses a clay pot, I think they were fashionable in the 80’s ? I’ve never owned one and use our large Le Cruset pot which does the job perfectly, allowing the chicken and vegetables to cook in the their own juices, not only creating the most sublime tasting chicken and veg but is also the healthiest way to enjoy a roast chicken. This really is the recipe that keeps on giving!

I regularly change the veg I use in this dish, depending on the season and what’s in my fridge. But it will work with pretty much anything, even pak choi. I’m not a big swede lover so swapped this for peeled celeriac. In addition to the one pot, usually roast some potatoes to accompany this which you can tuck in to guilt free as the rest of the dish is so healthy. Enjoy.

INGREDIENTS

1 x free range chicken, approx 1.4kg, 3lb

2 x garlic cloves skin on, lightly curshed

4 x sprigs of rosemary (I often use tarragon esp in the summer months)

Salt and Pepper

2 x carrots

2 x small red onions

1 x leek

1 x swede

4 x parsnips

2 x sprigs of thyme

TO COOK

serves 4

1. heat the oven to 190c, 350f, gas mark 5

2. put the garlic and 1 rosemary sprig inside the chicken

3. season the chicken well, rubbing it with your hands

4. trim, wash and peel the vegetables as appropriate.

5. put the vegetables in the pot, seasoning and mixing well

6. place the chicken on the vegetables add the remaining rosemary and thyme

7. put the lid on the pot and place it in the pre-heated oven

8. cook for about 1hr and 1/4 to 1hr 1/2 – until the juices run clear, when the thickest part of the thigh is pierced with a skewer

9. carve the chicken, serve with the vegetables and spoon over the juices

Anton Mosimann OBE.

I shall leave the last words to Anton Mosimann from the intro from ‘Cooking with Mosimann’.

“Cooking is a fascinating profession. To be good at cooking, a chef needs to be totally dedicated to his work; he must also love it, and needs to be the eternal apprentice, forever questioning, experimenting, discovering and adapting. I myself constantly seek fresh experience, expertise and skills, and hope I shall never be too old to learn something new! But cooking is also fascinating for the non professional, for all those who enjoy reading a cookbook as much as the latest bestseller, who enjoy recreating and experimenting with other cooks’ recipes, and who have that same commitment and enthusasim for good food”. Wise Words.