Roast chicken with aubergine
This roast chicken with aubergine and courgette is a super easy, tasty family meal for a Sunday lunch or roast dinner. It’s a one tray dish so you don’t have to make any side dishes – but I always put a bowl of salad on the dining table or some relish, salsa or spiced sauce.
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat the oven to 190°C.
- Cut the onion into wedges, the aubergine into 3 slices (horizontally).
- Line a large roasting dish with the aubergine and onion wedges. Season with salt and pepper, scatter some oregano on top and brush them with olive oil.
- Mix the rub, then massage the chicken with this under the skin over the breast and the thighs, then all over the skin.
- Cut the lemon in half. Put one half in the cavity together with one garlic clove, a bay leaf and the chilli pepper (cut in half for a more fiery version).
- Cut the other half into 1cm thick rings and put these on top of the vegetables in the middle of the roasting dish.
- Put the chicken on top of the lemon rings, then put the dish in the middle of the oven, and roast for 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, mince the garlic and cut the courgette into chunks.
- Take the dish out of the oven, turn over the chicken and roast for another 15 minutes.
- Take the dish out again, turn over the chicken again, so breast-side should facing upwards. Scatter the tomatoes around it together with the courgette. Crumble any leftover spiced butter together with the minced garlic .
- Cover the dish with foil, turn down the temperature to 170°C and gently roast for about 1hour, depending on the weight of the chicken (follow the cooking instructions on the packaging)
- After an hour, test the chicken alongside the thighs – poke them with a knife, if pink liquid comes out, it needs more cooking. If it’s clear, then it’s ready.
- Rest the chicken for 10 minutes, covered, before serving.
- Carve the chicken and serve with the vegetables and freshly chopped parsley.