Milk roast chicken with pancetta, lemon and garlic
- Prepare
- 1-2 hours
- Cook
- 1 to 2 hours
- Serve
- Serves 4–6
This might sound strange at first glance but it is one of my favourite ways to cook a chicken – pot roast a chicken with pancetta, a whole head of garlic, lemon zest, herbs and half a litre of milk! The milk reduces and caramelises into the most incredible sauce and it keeps the chicken juicy and tender while it roasts.
Ingredients
- 1 organic chicken (1.4kg–1.5kg/3lb 2oz–3lb 5oz)
- 3 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for rubbing
- 30g/1oz butter
- 80g/2¾oz pancetta, cut into lardons
- 6 echalion shallots, peeled, cut in half lengthways and each half cut into 4 chunks
- 1 large garlic bulb (10–12 cloves), peeled
- 5 bay leaves
- 12 fresh sage leaves
- 8–10 dried porcini or morel mushrooms
- 1 unwaxed lemon, pared zest only
- 500ml/18fl oz full-fat milk
- ⅓ nutmeg, freshly grated (see recipe tips)
- sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper
For the pilaf rice (optional)
- 40g/1½oz butter
- 10 curry leaves
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 300g/10oz basmati rice
Method
Rub the chicken all over with the oil, then season generously with salt and pepper. Leave for 1 hour to bring the chicken to room temperature and allow the salt to penetrate.
Heat 2 tablespoons oil and the butter in a large casserole. Fry the chicken turning regularly until browned all over. Remove the chicken from the pan and transfer to a plate. Wipe out the pan using kitchen paper.
Preheat the oven to 220C/200C Fan/Gas 7.
Heat the remaining tablespoon oil in the casserole. Add the pancetta and shallots with a pinch of salt. Fry gently until the shallots are beginning to soften, but without browning.
Add the garlic, bay leaves, sage, mushrooms and lemon zest. Fry for a few minutes to release the flavours, then pour in the milk. Add the nutmeg and bring to a gentle simmer.
Add the chicken, nestling it into the milk mixture. Scoop some of the milk mixture over the bird and into the cavity along with some bay leaves, lemon zest and shallots so that it infuses from within.
Transfer to the oven and roast with the lid off for 20 minutes. Baste again with the milk mixture and put the lid on. Roast for another 20–40 minutes, or until the chicken is completely cooked through. The chicken is cooked through when the juices run clear with no trace of pink when the thickest part of the leg, between the drumstick and the thigh, is pierced with a skewer.
Remove from the oven and leave to rest for 15 minutes with the lid on. This should produce a curdled, rich sauce and easy-to-carve chicken.
To make the pilaf, melt the butter in a pan. Add the curry leaves, cumin and cinnamon and gently toast for 2 minutes. Stir in the rice and continue to gently fry ensuring nothing burns.
Pour in 150ml/¼ pint water, season with a pinch of salt and bring to a gentle boil. The minute it starts boiling, turn the heat right down so the rice is barely bubbling. Cover with a lid and leave to simmer for about 10 minutes or until the water has been absorbed.
Remove the lid, fluff the rice and cover with a tea towel then place the lid back on. Leave to steam for a few minutes before serving.
Transfer the chicken to a board for carving. Joint the chicken into thighs, drumsticks and wings. Carve off the breasts and slice into four generous chunks. Place the chicken back in the pot, nestled in the sauce.
Serve the chicken and sauce with the pilaf rice (although polenta and mash also work well).
Recipe tips
I particularly love this dish with pilaf rice that has been toasted in butter with curry leaves and cinnamon and then gently simmered until fluffy. The chicken also great served with mashed potato, polenta or as part of a roast dinner.
Freshly grated nutmeg is much stronger than what you get from a jar of ready ground nutmeg. If you can't get hold of a whole nutmeg, you'll need about 2 teaspoons of ground nutmeg.
This is best cooked in a cast iron casserole, but if you don't have one, use a frying pan up to step 5, then transfer everything to a lidded ovenproof dish and continue to cook (you might find it takes a little longer to cook as the dish will need to heat up in the oven).
