Unlike many of my other recipes, this chicken cooks at a low heat for 3 hours, giving you all the permission you need for pottering around the house. Just leave it tucked up in its casserole until you are ready to unveil a succulent, falling off the bone warmly spiced chicken as a prize at the end. that can be served either shredded back into the cooking sauce, or more delicately carved and placed back on top of the juices in the pan (or on a plate if you love a little extra washing up).
I created this recipe for my collaboration with Crane Cookware, whose cast iron and stainless steel pans truly combine both beauty and function and are my most treasured cooking implements. The capsule collection of exquisitely designed pieces are not only the best I have every cooked on, their simple artistry makes them the ultimate oven to table kitchen essential.
The beauty of this recipe is that it is just as good for a simple Mon day night dinner as for a holiday feast.
Read more about it here
Slow Aromatic Roast Chicken
- 1 medium/large chicken
- 4 banana shallots or 2 medium yellow onions
- 1 head of garlic, cloves separated but unpeeled
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp chili flakes
- salt and pepper
- 1 tbsp olive oil, divided
- 1 red chili
- 2 star anise
- 2 fresh bay leaves
- 1 tsp spy sauce
- 180ml – 250ml water
- An hour before you want to cook the chicken, remove it from the fridge to bring it to room temperature.
- Preheat your oven to 160C.
- Combine the cinnamon, coriander, ginger and chili flakes together in a small bowl and add the salt and pepper. Rub the spice mixture all over the dried chicken and allow to sit while you start the rest of the dish.
- Drizzle over 1/2 tbsp olive oil and rub everything into the skin one more time.
- Peel and slice the shallots into rounds. If you are using onions, halve through the root, peel and slice into thin half moons.
- Place a heavy bottomed casserole onto a medium heat. covering the bottom with the remaining 1/2tbsp olive oil. Add the sliced shallots or onions, garlic, star anise, whole chili, bay leaves and a small pinch of salt to the pan and heat until the onions are translucent and beginning to brown. Remove from the heat and place the chicken breast side down. Drizzle over the soy sauce (for colour and umami).
- Just before placing in the oven add enough water to come 1/4 way up the side of the chicken. (The quantity here is vague as it depends on the size of your pan)
- Cook for 3 hours, turning the chicken over after the first 90 minutes and basting every 30 minutes thereafter.
- Allow to rest in the pan for 20 minutes before carving or shredding off the bone and back into the sauce with the onions.
Have you made this dish?
Let me know what you think, share your efforts and any tweaks you made to the recipe on Instagram, don’t forget to tag #BuildingFeasts or email me on info@buildingfeasts.com
