I live in cosmopolitan London where there is a plethora of restaurants serving up every conceivable cuisine you can think of. In the past week we have dined at Cinder (cooked over fire, kissed by flames), Empire, Empire (disco-themed Indian restaurant) and Manzi’s (familiar dishes with a side of playful escapism). The words in brackets are the imaginative ways in which they have each described themselves.
I also had a generous plate of salads and a side of ladopita (a flatbread) at Ottolenghi in Hampstead (laid back and leafy). The reason for heading there was also to look for some sauces from their newly launched Pantry collection. In the event they were not available, so I placed an online order.
The sauces arrived this morning, as did a whole chicken and a shoulder of pork from the Ginger Pig. The pork is designated for a pulled pork dinner on Sunday, but what should I do with the chicken? There was some preserved lemons to use up and fortuitously Ottolenghi has a recipe for Spring roast chicken with preserved lemon. If you have the SIMPLE cookbook, this is on page 227.
The thyme I bought three weeks ago has still not been planted out as it has been either too wet or too windy to do anything outdoors. With a bit of garlic, some fresh lemon and a slab of butter, the only other ingredients for the chicken, this was the start of a splendid Friday night dinner.
Friday Night Roast Chicken Dinner
Spring roast chicken with preserved lemon
Harissa and confit garlic roast potatoes
Carrots roasted with olive oil and maple syrup
Steamed savoy cabbage with peas
The recipe for the harissa and garlic roast potatoes is on page 142 of the SIMPLE cookbook. It is what I would have made had I not been so short of time this afternoon. Instead, I used one of the new Pantry sauces as a shortcut.
For the Roast Potatoes (serves 2):
Peel and cut 800 g Maris Piper potatoes into 3 cm chunks, boil in hot salted water for 8 – 10 minutes, drain the potatoes and let them cool down and dry out a bit in the colander.
Place the potatoes back in the pot, cover with a lid and shake up and down a few times. The rough edges of the potatoes will crisp up when roasted.
Toss the potatoes in 60 g of Ottolenghi’s pomegranate, rose and preserved lemon harissa, place in a baking tray, drizzle over some olive oil and roast at 190 C fan (same temperature as the chicken) for around 50 minutes.
Please note, if you are using other brands of harissa, taste a little beforehand. Some brands could be too salty.
Over dinner I discussed with Mr Gochugaru how to improve the vegetables. Adding chopped mint to the steamed cabbage and peas, and chopped flat-leaf parsley to the carrots, would add grassy freshness and colour. Next time too I would finely chop the rosemary instead of just leaving it as a sprig when roasting. There is definitely a next time, as the chicken was moist and tender, the sauce so garlicky and buttery, and the vegetables had different tastes and textures. It is the perfect Friday evening dinner which is easy to scale up if you invite guests.
