Quick roast Christmas chicken & sticky veg
Enjoy an energy- and cost-efficient festive lunch – we’ve used a few tricks to cut down on the oven cooking time, but the result is still a succulent chicken
No-waste gravy
- Preparation and cooking time
- Prep:
- Cook:
- Easy
- Serves 6 - 8
Skip to ingredients
- 3 tbsp sunflower oil
- 1 reserved chicken backbone(see recipe, below), chopped or snapped into pieces
- carrot trimmingsand peels (see recipe, below), finely chopped
- ½ large onionplus the whole skin
- 1 tsp caster sugar
- 3 tbsp plain flour
- 1 tbsp soy sauce(optional)
- 100ml wineport or sherry (or use water)
- 2 chicken or beef stock cubesor pots
Nutrition: Per serving (8)
- kcal126
- fat8g
- saturates2g
- carbs8g
- sugars2g
- fibre0.3g
- protein2g
- salt0.9g
Method
step 1
Heat the oil in a wide, shallow pan over a medium heat and spend at least 10 mins browning the chicken backbone pieces – the darker the colour, the more flavourful the gravy will be. Add the carrot trimmings, onion and onion skins, and cook for 3-4 mins over a high heat until well browned. Scatter over the sugar and cook until it starts to caramelise, then tip in the flour and cook to a sticky, light brown paste.
step 2
Splash in the soy sauce, if using, then pour in the wine or water and simmer for a few minutes until reduced and thickened. Stir in 1 litre water from the kettle, add the stock cubes and bring to a simmer. Cook gently for 40 mins, then sieve into another saucepan and season to taste. Stir in any resting juices from the chicken. Reheat when ready to serve. Can be made a day ahead and chilled, then reheated the next day.
