Super Easy Roast Dinner for Two: One Dish, Four Hands, Five Minutes

1 small whole chicken

3-4 small potatoes

2 carrots

5-6 mushrooms

1 handful of cherry tomatoes

1 medium red onion

1 lemon

Olive oil

Salt

Your favourite seasonings



If you want to make gravy you will need:

1 tbsp corn starch

½ cup milk or water



Essential Equipment

Large roasting or casserole dish



Step 1: Pre-heat oven and prepare ingredients

Put your oven on to pre-heat to 375

Peel the potatoes, carrots, and onion and cut them into quarters. Roughly chop the mushrooms.

If you are making gravy dissolve the corn starch with the milk/water in a serving jug

Cut your chicken in half length ways. IE down the back and breast bone so that each half has a leg, breast, and wing

Get out the seasonings you would like to use and the olive oil etc



Step 2: Put it together

Put a glug of olive oil (1-2 tbsp) and a sprinkle of sea salt in your casserole dish and spread it around

Pile is some of the veg so your chicken halves have a little bed to lie on

Put the chicken halves on top of the veg (skin side up) and rub the chicken with olive oil and salt and any other seasonings you like.

Pile the rest of the veg around the chicken and season

Cut the lemon in half and squeeze the juice over everything and pile the now juiced lemon halves in with the rest

Chuck it in the oven to roast for about 60 minutes. The chicken should be nice and brown and the potatoes cooked through



Step 3: Serve it up

Take your casserole out of the oven



If you aren?t bothered with making gravy:

You can serve this straight from the baking dish at the table. Remove the lemon halves before serving.



If you are making gravy:

Pile every thing on a big platter and put back in the warm oven (except the lemon halves)

In the baking dish should be lots of lovely juices

Pour these juices into your jug with the corn starch mixture and stir well

Put the jug in the microwave and nuke for 3-4 minutes until it is hot and thickening up

Take your platter out of the oven and serve at the table with your gravy



 Results

Once again I have no photo except for the photo of the clean casserole dish. I cannot adequately describe how satisfying the whole experience was. From the stupidly easy prep to the almost non-existent clean up. The casserole didn?t even have to soak. This dish will take two people less than ten minutes to prepare and wash up. And it is so delicious to have a roast chicken dinner in less than an hour.





 SD loved this. He has never tried roasting a whole bird before and if you are new to it this would be a good way to get started. You will soon be confident with it.



Recommendations

This is a great recipe not only because it is so easy but also because it is frugal. I can use what ever veg I happen to have in the fridge and maybe use up a few bits and pieces that would not pass muster raw but will add great texture and flavour when roasted. So you don?t have to have all the veg I listed in the ingredients. And you can throw in what ever you fancy.



And not only can you use up stuff that might otherwise go to waste but this meal produced no waste. We. Ate. Everything. Granted we had just walked 15 miles and were starving but we opted for the smallest bird and that was just enough to feed two. Nothing left over. Not even gravy!



I seasoned the bird with sea salt, garlic salt, and a little paprika. The lemon also adds great flavour but you don?t need it if you don?t have one to hand. You can use what ever seasonings you prefer. I would try this again with maybe a Cajun rub.



Don?t be afraid to man handle your chicken. If you have a good big sharp knife you should have no trouble halving the bird but don?t be timid. Give it a good whack! Being careful of fingers and other extremities of course. It isn?t has hard as you might think nor does it require much muscle. Just a little confidence.



Extra Double Plus Better Reccomentation

This works if your oven has an automatic shut off:When you put your chicken into the preheated oven put the timer on for 50 minutes and then go to the pub. When the oven shuts off the chicken keeps cooking for another 10-15 minutes while the oven cools down. When you get back from the pub an hour and fifteen minutes later the chicken is still hot in the oven and is just fall off the bone tender.