Nici Wickes' roast chicken for one. Photo / Todd Eyre
Nici Wickes makes a case for a petite roast dinner.
If I’ve heard it once I’ve heard it a hundred times: “It’s so hard to cook a roast for only one or two people.” I’m a huge fan of a roast dinner and a whole chicken leg makes for the perfect roast dinner if you’re living alone. I go all out with veges and gravy of course, but the best thing to do is to stuff the chicken leg too.
Serves 1-2
Ingredients
One whole chicken leg person
3/4 cup fresh breadcrumbs
2 Tbsps milk
1 Tbsp dried thyme or oregano
1-2 Tbsp butter
1 medium-sized onion, peeled
1/2 tsp sea salt + extra
Pinch of black pepper
Mix of root veges - potato, kūmara, pumpkin, parsnip
Splash of olive oil
Cooked peas to serve
Gravy ingredients
1 heaped tsp plain flour
1/4 cup liquid stock
Water or wine
Salt and pepper to season
Method
1. Heat oven to 180C.
2. Make the stuffing by soaking breadcrumbs in milk for a few minutes. Mix in herbs and butter and grate in about a quarter of the onion. Add salt and pepper and mix.
3. Tease the skin of the chicken thigh away from the flesh and scoop the stuffing into this cavity, pushing it all the way down to the drumstick. Smooth to close.
4. Chop up the remaining onion and other vegetables into chunks. Toss these in oil in a small roasting dish that will take them and the chicken leg(s).
5. Lay chicken on top of vegetables, splash with oil and an extra sprinkle of salt and bake for 45-50 minutes or until chicken and vegetables are golden and cooked through.
6. To make the gravy, remove onion from the roasting dish – it ought to be well-browned - and add this and any pan juices to a small pot or pan. Sprinkle over 1 heaped tsp flour and mix to a paste. Pour over 1/4 cup stock, stir to remove lumps and bring to a simmer. Add in a splash more water or wine to thin and cook for 5 minutes to thicken. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
7. Serve roast dinner with gravy and peas. Yum!
