Even if you don't normally like
blue cheese, I implore you to give this a try - I'm not usually a fan myself,
but the combination of tangy Roquefort (just a small amount) and crisp golden
roast chicken is absolutely heavenly. I added the courgettes and lemon to
freshen it up, and because I can never resist an opportunity to use my fabulous
Nudo lemon-infused olive oil, but you can easily create a similar effect with a
little fresh lemon zest. Finally, you'll notice that butter features quite
heavily in this dish, and my only excuse is that my inspiration was French -
it's their fault.
Ingredients
2 chicken thighs and 2 drumsticks
2 fat garlic cloves
Olive oil
Salt and black pepper
Roughly 2 tbsp Roquefort cheese
Butter
For the courgettes:
1 small courgette
A drizzle of lemon olive oil
A pinch of lemon zest
Butter
For the mash:
2 large potatoes
Single cream
Butter
1 tsp mustard
Serves 2
Start by preparing the chicken
for roasting. Preheat the oven to 180˚C. Arrange the chicken pieces in an
ovenproof dish and drizzle generously with olive oil. Crush the garlic cloves
and scatter over the top, and sprinkle with black pepper and plenty of salt, to
make the skins nice & crispy. Once the oven is up to temperature, pop the
chicken inside and set a timer for 60 minutes.
When there are 30 minutes left on
the clock, peel the potatoes and chop into small pieces. Place in a deep
saucepan, cover with well-salted boiling water and put on a high heat.
When the time is nearly up,
thinly slice the courgette and pop into a frying pan with a scoop of butter and
a drizzle of oil (lemon if using, olive if not). In another small sauce pan,
melt a large scoop of butter and add the Roquefort, crumbled. Stir until the
cheese melts (and don't forget to stir the courgettes occasionally).
Finally, turn all the heat off
but leave everything where it is while you do the potatoes. Drain and mash with
a good splash of cream, a bit more butter, a pinch of salt and the mustard.
To serve, place a large spoonful
of mash in the middle of the plate, top with the chicken, and drizzle with the
Roquefort butter (it goes beautifully with the mash, too). Add the courgettes
at the side and pop a pinch of lemon zest on top.
