Every cook has a version of this classic–roast chicken.
This one is inspired by Jamie Oliver’s simple, tasty and robust recipe.
Serves 4/5
1 free-range chicken
olive oil
salt and pepper
6 bay leaves
3 cloves of garlic – unpeeled
a lemon – halved
a glass white wine
Heat the oven at 190°C/375°F/Gas Mark 5.
Rub the chicken all over with olive oil and season well with salt and pepper
Stuff the cavity with the bay leaves, garlic and lemon halves.
Roast the chicken for 1 1/2 hours.
Halfway through, baste it thoroughly.
When it is cooked, it should be nicely browned and the juices should run clear, not pink.
At that point, remove the pan from the oven and move the cooked bird onto a platter to rest for a few minutes.
Meanwhile, tip the roasting pan and spoon out most of the fat/oil—leaving about a tablespoonful in the pan.
Pick up the bird carefully with a pair of oven gloves and up-end it, letting the juices run back into the pan. Add any juices that have settled in the platter too.
(A little tricky—but worth it for the taste of the gravy.)
Park the chicken and cover it with foil to keep it warm while you make the gravy.
Add the glass of white wine and scrape any residue sticking to the pan.
Gently stir over a low-ish heat for 2–3 minutes.
You could add some stock or more wine to make it go a little further.
Taste and pour into a warmed jug.
We had this for lunch today!
Seat ready in front of telly and an almost open mind ready too.
Lovely, Jen!
We had it for evening diner.
Mmmm a very tasty recipe! I literally can’t wait for tonight, so excited and so looking forward to Winston Graham’s books coming alive again, Jane x
You posted it too late!!! My husband already cooked our chicken when he was doing a full English breakfast this morning.
This sounds nice and simple and really good, Robin; thank you. I will definitely try this — with one modification: http://bit.ly/1GvFkH5. (Baking bags make this soooo easy.)
I look forward to the first episode of the new Poldark, also. I have seen Aidan and Eleanor in interviews and clips. I’ll bet they do a fine job!
They do, Chris and it looks fantastic.
We are waiting for the event! Dinner is ready: tortelloni (with inside ricotta e spinaci) with tomatoes sauce (pomodoro, garlic, red pepper, olive oil, prezzemolo) and after 3 types of cawflowers in the casseruola with fresch tomatoes, olives and rosmary. Vegetarian dinner this night….not without a glass of red wine from Castellina in Chianti. Robin, Meredith…I wish both a great and unforgettable night! With love Bea and Gio!
So dear Beatrice and always, Beatrice!!–wish we were coming to dinner it sounds delicious. Prezzemolo is cheese?
With love to you two too!
Sorry, I don’t know what happened, but Demelza75 was never my name here, but beatrice….maybe I have had a mistake with my new pc. In any case I am Beatrice in Florence, of course…sorry for the confusion. 😊
I made a lot of disparaging noises when they cast that pretty young Irishman as the new Captain Ross but after seeing some recently released photos of him shirtless & smiling I believe the 2015 version will be quite palatable.
Exciting, isn’t it? We’ll raise a glass to the ratings!!
It’s gotten some friends of ours interested in watching the original version. 🙂
Cheers & hugs!
When will the United States air the new Poldark series on Masterpiece Theater? Not that I think there is anyone but Robin Ellis who can play Ross Poldark, but I do want to see the cameo (as the magistrate) that he will play.
Sincerely, Linda Horlbeck
Sent from my iPad
>
I’m in the States too, Linda. What I’ve been hearing is the expectation is for the new Poldark to be aired here round about June. That said, I’ve been getting spoilerific details from friends in the UK, waiting is most unfair. I’ll have to prepare this roast chicken on the day. We make one that is very similar, the difference being we add a quartered onion to the inside of the bird, with the lemon, some rosemary and thyme.
Nooo tonight no cooking at all!!! Just “broccoletti alla romana” sauté in the pan with oil, peperoncino and garlic and two turkey hamburgers with herbs and olive oil. Ready to watch the episodes and give to Aidan a chance….
Quite right, Paola!
Adored Poldark books and series. Had it on video & now DVD. I am determined to look at new series without comparing. However in my heart Ross & Demelza will always be Robin & Angharad. For me one of the best series ever. Loved that it was gritty and the settings were real. Will try your chicken Robin.
Is Nampara by ny chance Nonpareil?
Nampara, Chris, is R Poldark’s Cornish home!
I wish the debut good fortune and great numbers but they’ll never reach your Ross and wonderful cast. So glad I have the CD. Have a great evening. A toast to you both.
Will be watching the new Poldark later , but I’m sure it just won’t have the same feeling as watching you in the original , I couldn’t wait for Sunday nights with a jacket potato and a glass of cider back in the days
Hi Robin and Mere! Wish we could watch the new Poldark with you, but will have to wait for the US premiere. It will undoubtedly disappoint, except of course for the episodes with you in them – still, a tribute to you and the entire original cast for creating something worth trying to duplicate. xxooR and I
You may be surprised Randi!
Me be a nasty so-and-so…but the pohto shows a bunch of halved red onions not mentioned in the recipe…and as I LOVE onions, please talk about why red and how you used them 🙂
I had a couple wanting attention, Clark, so half way through I popped them in the pan and then when the chicken came out I transferred them to another pan for another 15 minutes to soften them further. You could put them in whole at the beginning.
Ah Prudie and Judd. We loved them in the original series. USA gets it in June, right? Liked this recipe and will save for then
I waited to comment until we had seen the first episode…thoroughly enjoyed it all, I must say. It looked beautiful and Aidan was a very creditable Ross, too. Not sure why they killed off George’s horrible old ex-blacksmith Dad & made him an equally horrible Uncle…but a minor quibble. The great thing is that, thanks to modern technology, we can have ‘your’ Poldark whenever we want and also this new one. No need to compare – they can both be enjoyed on their own merits! We enjoyed a supper I hope you both would approve of: beautiful cod fillets, baked on spinach and topped with fresh tomato & home made tapenade. A lovely evening all round!
So glad you enjoyed it Rachel–so did I. “No need to compare” is right. Different times. Supper sounds delicious.
Congrats to you, too! Can’t wait until June, when we’ll see Poldark here in the U. S. Look forward to making this chicken!
We had a chicken salad before tonights first episode of the new Poldark. My mom always did a lovely salad on Sunday evenings. We had roast chicken for a traditional Sunday lunch and used up the left overs with a salad for teatime and then we all sat and watched Poldark. Happy memories. The new series is excellent and i did enjoy watching but nothing can ever come close to the original.
Well Robin watched the new Poldark Aidan was a very passable Ross,though the original will always be the man for me he was the one I fell in love with as a teenager,but he will do Best wishes to Meredith and you.
P.S. we had lamb for dinner, and Prudie and Judd are not getting a look in.
Glad you liked Aidan, Elaine–he’s terrific.
We’ll be waiting forever, here in Australia
Well, I had so many happy memories of the original I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it was really terrific and I really believed in Aidan, a mark of a very good actor when the original was so memorable.
Roast beef lunch out yesterday with family as it was my birthday. A good day!
Happy Birthday, Lizzie! I agree–a v good start!
thank you Mr Ellis – I never met you on set but I play Prudie in Poldark 2015. You will always be Poldark for me!
Hey Beatie–how lovely and “Robin” if you please! You were splendidly Prudie last night! Not sure Mary Wimbush would have managed your run to Trenwith!
I reckon this will “run and run”. You are a great company and the punters are going to get involved.
Sorry to have missed you on set.
No disrespect to the new version, but the original cast will always be the real embodiment of the characters for me. Maybe it is partly the difference between viewing Poldark as a 15 year old and a 55 year old! Still as others have pointed out, thanks to technology we can still enjoy the 1975 version when we were all young and gorgeous!…and as they say “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery”. If the original had not been so great they would not have attempted a remake or taken so long to do so.
Different times. A very good start though, Susan.
Couldn’t have the chicken as we had visitors and my husband cooked a roast beef dinner! Not a red meat fan, but have to make concessions for others :-). I watched the new Poldark, I was a little apprehive as remakes are often a let down, but so far so good. The new Poldark will never take your place in my head – but he is rather dishy lol
He is and a good actor to boot!
There is no replacement for Robin Ellis in my mind. I’ve only written two fan letters in my life one was to Robin and the other was to Kevin Spacey. Robin wrote back, need I say more? I was at university in Lancaster and my friends and me used to converse in extraordinarily bad Cornish accents as we visited Forton Services late at night when all other hostelries were well closed, probably 5.30 pm in those far off days of three day weeks. No, Aidan can be no substitute for the manly presence of Mr Ellis. Clever too, a graduate of Cambridge if I remember correctly. And a historian, what more can a woman want? Shame he’s married to someone else and so am I now. I sound like a terrible teenager.
Bless you Alice–so kind! Love to have been a fly on the wall at Forton for those accented to’s and fro’s with your friends.
I’m going to spend the day sourcing my terrible inner teenager!
The new Poldark is beautiful but I miss the special looks, the special smile and the feeling that it is real and that’s exactly what made you and Demelza such a lovely couple!!
Thank you, Caroline. Early days…
I’m in my cottage right by the sea on the rugged North Devon coast, a couple of miles from Cornwall, perfect setting for re reading the Poldark novels for the umpteenth time and watching the original (and best) Poldark . Watched the new one last weekend and will try to watch on with an open mind, determined not to compare- but honestly, for me he is just not Ross and she is just not Demelza.
My house, appropriately for a Poldark fan, is called Smugglers Cottage. Assume it is called so because said smuggler was caught and hanged in the 1700s (or perhaps he escaped from a cache under the floor and cocked a snook at the pursuing authorities).
On January 8th, your birthday and that of Elvis Presley…two heroes… I had double knee replacements. Hence the rereading of the novels and the rewatching of the series, surrounded by nine Siamese cats, one boy, eight girls, who love my enforced inaction, and a Vizsla and Border Collie who hate it!
I am trying to persuade my family to treat me to one of your cookery courses in 2016, I am a keen cook and would love to attend. However in the meantime I am really enjoying the blog and trying the recipes. My husband has just had his fifth catheter ablation, so healthy Mediterranean recipes are the order of the day for both of us. Thank you for those and the great website. Best wishes to you, your family and the menagerie.
Thanks for this lovely comment, Sallie. Good luck with the recovery–I hope you are having good physical therapy along with the long read!
Pleasantly surprised by the new Poldark – Aidan smoulders like another “Ross” I remember in my teens. I must have been the only woman in the UK who blinked when he went naked into the sea (if he did) and missed it. LOL
Good Evening Robin,
We have had an old friend around for dinner this evening. We had not seen her for some time. I cooked roast chicken using your recipe.
It was a great evening -eating the delicious chicken from your recipe and then discussing the original Tv Poldark!! Sheer indulgence but such fun!
Thanks for the tasty recipe AND the wonderful memories☺️
With best wishes,
Fran Shaw
Sounds like a lovely evening, Fran.
Reblogged this on homethoughtsfromabroad626 and commented:
POLDARK is coming to the US in June on PBS but I doubt it will be better than the original series from 1975 starring ROBIN ELLIS, whose blog this recipe came from. The new series will be different for sure, but the original was fantastic!
The chicken looks wonderful. I have to say, there can only be ONE Ross Poldark, and that is YOU! When I saw the original series, I fell in Iove with it, and I’m sorry to say that the new series can’t hold a candle to the original.
I’m so thankful that I purchased the DVD’s of both Series 1 and 2 of the original series, because that is the ONLY Poldark I ever want to watch!
Fondly, Linda Horlbeck lindahbeck@comcast.net
Sent from my iPad
>
Thanks, Linda and welcome!