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Roast chicken with autumn fruits

Roast chicken is a Sunday lunch favorite in my family and this recipe is popular during the Autumn. This roast chicken is baked with autumn fruits, creating a lovely and sweet compote for the chicken. I normally serve it with mashed potatoes or sweet potatoes but boiled rice would also complement it well.
Print Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Resting Time 4 hours
Total Time 1 hour 50 minutes
Servings: 4 people
Cuisine: British
Calories: 1234
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 1 medium chicken about 2 kg
  • 40 g dried cranberries
  • 2 tsp chopped thyme leaves
  • 4 sprigs of thyme
  • 40 g soft butter or dairy-free spread
  • 2 pears
  • 2 apples
  • 4 plums
  • 2 red onions
  • 1 Tbsp light muscovado sugar
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil

Method
 

  1. Preheat the oven to 190°C.
  2. Mix half of the butter with chopped thyme and rub the chicken along the breast bone under the skin. Season with salt and pepper.
  3. Put the chicken in a baking tray and roast it in the oven for 1 hour.
  4. After 45 minutes of roasting prepare the fruits and onions: soak the cranberries in hot water; stone and quarter the pears, plums and apples. Cut the onions into 4-6 wedges each.
  5. Toss the fruits with the drained cranberries, thyme leaves, olive oil and sugar. Season with salt & pepper.
  6. Take the chicken out of the oven, scatter the fruit mixture around it, toss these with the chicken's gravy and add scatter around bits of the remaining butter.
  7. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, tossing the fruits at least once.
  8. Rest the chicken under cover for 10 minutes then serve with the baked fruits.