hey culinary peeps. i must
confess i am a supermarket meat stalker. with two young adult men, one with an
appetite of 10 i am always on the lookout for a bargain. most of those bargains
come in the form of whole chicken some less than 4 bucks. my method is to
pounce and then chuck the chook in the freezer until i am ready to cook it.
and nothing is quite as simple
as a butterflied chicken roasted in the oven, served with a tasty salad or
whatever else takes your fancy. i have made this chicken several times. my
inspiration comes from lovie and the power of vegeta which you will find in any
slavic household. if you don't, then they are surely imposters. this handy
seasoning is the cornerstone of many a slavic dish but is handy for most
savoury creations. just make sure you have your vegeta license if you are new
to its powers or ask some sweet baba and she will show you how much to use.
so for my chicken i just use
some kitchen scissors to cut straight through the back and then butterfly it
which will ensure that the cooking time is reduced. for the seasoning i use
about 2 tspns of salt which i rub all over the chicken, i rub about a tbspn of
vegeta all over the chicken and in the cavity and then dollop 2 big tablespoons
of garlic, no garlic shaming here, it can come straight out of the jar or
finely crush about 6 cloves. follow that with 1 heaped tablespoon of cracked pepper
and then a generous coating of olive oil. zest one large lemon and squeeze the
juice all over the chicken. pop onto a tray lined with baking paper and slash
the legs, thighs and breasts to the bone and then put into an oven at 180
degrees celsius, check after 45 mins and then increase temp to 200 for another
10-15 mins for crispier skin. you can check by slicing into the thigh to ensure
that it is cooked.
