Ingredients
70g unsalted butter, softened
30g olive oil
3 TBSP thyme leaves
3 Garlic cloves, crushed
1 preserved lemon, flesh and skin roughly chopped
1 tsp of lemon zest
1 1/2 TBSP lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp Flaky salt
2 TSP Bahārāt Gulf of Arabia by Camelēr Spice Co.
1.5 kg whole chicken
Method
- Heat oven to 200°C. Put butter, olive oil thyme, garlic, preserved lemon, lemon zest, 1/2 tsp salt and Bahārāt Gulf of Arabia
in food processor and blitz then set aside, or you can use a pestle and mortar if you don't have a processor. - Position the chicken so that the legs are pointed towards you and place your fingers under the skin to loosen it from the chicken breasts and move your hands gently. Spread 3/4 of the butter mixture under the skin with the remainder over the legs and the rest of the bird. Put the chicken into a roasting pan and drizzle with lemon juice, a teaspoon of salt and generous pinch of spices.
- Roast in the oven for 1 hour, and baste with the juices every 10 min, rotating the tin as you do this to ensure the chicken is evenly roasted. Chicken is cooked once the juices run clear when pierced in the thickest part, and skin is browned. Cook in increments of 10 minutes if the bird needs more time.
- For a chicken that weighs 1.5kg it may need to be roasted up to 1hr 20 minutes. If you have a meat thermometer it is worth using. A reading of 165F or 78.88 C means that the internal temperature is safe to eat.
- Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes before carving.