Cinnamon roasted chicken with spiced pears
During the winter months there is nothing more satisfying & fulfilling at the weekend than a lovely Sunday Lunch. In my family the star roast lunch is chicken, so to make it a bit more seasonal and festive I rubbed the skin with spiced butter and roasted some pears alongside it. This cinnamon roasted chicken with spiced pears turned out to be a fantastic dinner – it smelled really Christmassy and tasted delicious. Perfect for a laid-back family meal or even a festive dinner party! Serve it with roast potatoes and a couple of other side dishes of your choosing.
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat the oven to 200°C.
- Mix the butter/spread with the cinnamon, ginger and lemon zest. Add salt & pepper to your liking. Rub ⅔ of this into the chicken skin all over and inside the cavity.
- Place the chicken in a baking dish. Put the whole ginger, garlic and onion in its cavity.
- Put the dish in oven and turn down the temperature to 180°C. Bake for 10 minutes.
- Pour the cider over the chicken and put it back into the oven. Cook for about and hour, basting a couple of times.
- Meanwhile, quarter & core the pears and put them in a bowl. Squeeze over the lemon juice.
- When the chicken is brown, take it out of the oven.
- Rub the pear pieces with the remaining butter and place them around the chicken.
- Cook for 20-30 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through (check with a skewer), and the pears are tender (they should not be too soft).
- Place the chicken in a large serving dish and put the pear pieces around it.
- Reduce the pan juices to a gravy, then strain it into a serving jug.
- Carve the chicken, then serve with the pear and gravy.