Roast chicken with cauliflower velouté, roasted vegetables & duqqa spice
Four out of five chefs will probably tell you that roast chicken is their favourite dish. This is perhaps due to the nostalgia we all connect to it, but more likely because it represents elegance and comfort on a plate at the same time. Roast chicken holds a special place in all of our hearts.You may roast a whole chicken for this recipe, but we have cut the individual pieces off the carcass for our example so we could get them crispy and flavourful in a pan with herbs and butter before we send them into the oven (I also used the carcass to make my chicken stock, but you can use store bought if you don't feel up to the challenge). The velouté is one of the mother sauces, and rightly so. The basis of a traditional velouté is stock which has been reduced down and finished with cream. We have reduced the stock whilst cooking off the cauliflower to make a puree, so it's veering ever so slightly away from tradition, but rest assured, your family will be licking the dish clean if you incorporate this sauce. It’s easy to make as well. The herb oil is incorporated to balance this rich and creamy sauce and bring out the earthy notes of the vegetables. The addition of duqqa spice accentuates the nuttiness of the cauliflower and brings a punch of flavour and seasoning to round things off.
Equipment
- large pan
- sauce pot
- Chopping board
- Sharp knife
- Blender
Ingredients
- 1 free-range chicken
- 1 cauliflower
- 3 spring onion
- 1 white onion
- 6 carrots
- 250 ml pouring cream
- 250 ml chicken stock
- 50 g winter herbs
- 60 ml extra virgin olive oil
- 10 g butter
- Sols duqqa spice
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Wash all of your vegetables and herbs. Cut half of the cauliflower into bite-sized florets, the rest you can chop up roughly (including the harder middle). Cut the spring onion into short batons, and if your carrots are particularly large cut them up. Dice the white onion and keep with the diced cauliflower separately.
- Put a large pan on the stove at a high temperature and allow it to get very hot. Once scolding, throw in the vegetables (not the diced white onion or chopped cauliflower) with just a touch of olive oil and salt. Give them some colour and then remove them into a bowl on one side.
- Place your chicken into the pan skin down and allow it to get some colour, flip the pieces and add your butter to the pan along with some strong scented herbs like thyme or rosemary. Baste the chicken gently with the butter and once you've got a deep colour, throw your vegetables into the pan with the chicken and put in the oven. Leave ib the oven for roughly 30 minutes or until cooked through.
- Sauté your diced onion along with the chopped cauliflower, adding chicken stock until cooked through. Then add your pouring cream and blend until it is a smooth purée. Season with salt and pepper.
- For the herb oil, place your selection of herbs into a blender with the extra virgin olive oil and blitz until completely incorporated. Leave to one side to rest.
- Once all of these components are ready, layer your velouté down onto a deep dish. Arrange the roasted chicken and vegetables down into the bed of sauce, drizzle the herb oil over it and then dust with duqqa spice.