Serves 4-6

A simple roasted chicken never fails to please whatever the occasion, whether a casual family supper or a smart dinner party. This double recipe is perfect for either situation, with both bird and rice cooked together in the oven. The bird is roasted with syrup-glazed lemon slices, but do make sure you use a well-flavoured free-range organic bird - hunt one down in one of the many great farmers’ markets springing up all over the country. All you need to accompany it is a nice salad, or boil some greens such as beans or broccoli.

1 large lemon
3 tbsp caster sugar
100ml water
1 large free-range chicken, about 2kg
About 75g butter, plus a butter paper
1 sprig fresh thyme, leaves stripped
1 glass dry white wine
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Pilaff:

250g basmati rice, rinsed
1 large onion, finely chopped
3 tbsp olive oil
1 large sprig fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
1 small cinnamon stick
6 cardamom pods, split open
3 thinly pared strips each of a lemon, lime and small orange
600ml chicken stock or water
1 tsp sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper

1 First, prepare the glazed lemon slices. Slice the lemon wafer-thin with a serrated knife. Dissolve the sugar in the water and then boil the lemon slices in the syrup for about 3 minutes. Remove and cool. Drain the lemon. The syrup can be used elsewhere for a fruit salad.
2 Now, get the bird ready for roasting. Heat the oven to 190C, Gas 5. Pull out the pads of fat from the body cavity. Slip your fingers into the skin of the breasts and push the butter into each side. Replace the skin and lightly tie the chicken legs together. Season the skin and scatter over the thyme leaves. Cover the breast with the lemon slices, overlapping slightly, then press the butter paper on top.
3 Place in the oven and allow an hour’s cooking time.
4 Meanwhile, prepare the pilaff. Rinse and briefly soak the basmati. The best way to do this is to place the grains in a large bowl. Half fill with cold running water and swish the rice with your
fingers. Tip out the water leaving the wet grains behind. Repeat twice more and leave the rice to soak in the last fill of water for 10 minutes, then drain in a sieve. Get ready a medium-size round oven-proof casserole.
5 Sauté the onion in the oil for about 5 minutes (this can be done in the casserole if it is cast iron). Add the soaked rice and stir well, then add the herbs, whole spices and citrus zests. Cook for a minute or so.
6 Mix the stock or water into the pan together with seasoning and bring to the boil. If using a saucepan for this stage, transfer the rice and liquid to an oven-proof dish. Cover the top with a sheet of foil and press it to the edges to seal. If you have a lid for the casserole, use that.
7 Place the rice in the top of the oven while the bird is cooking, allowing 30 minutes’ cooking time. As the bird will have cooked for about 30 minutes by this time, the butter paper can be removed. Return the bird to the oven so the lemon slices can caramelise in the heat.
8 To finish the pilaff, remove the casserole from the oven after 30 minutes and allow to stand for 5 minutes before uncovering. The whole spices should have floated to the top and can be easily picked off. Fluff the grains up with a fork. The edges should have cooked to a light golden crunchiness and should be mixed in also.
9 Check the bird is cooked by cutting the skin between a leg and the breast. It should be juicy but not pink. Remove the bird to a warm serving plate (tip it up a little so the cavity juices run into the pan).
10 Pour the glass of wine into the roasting pan and put it back on to the heat. Cook for a couple of minutes, scraping up the pan deposits, then strain into a small jug to serve as a light gravy. Carve the bird and serve with the pilaff.

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