Chicken smothered and baked in cultured cream is an old classic, but sometimes I like to go one step further. I use a lot of herbs at home, and sometimes I am left with quite a few stalks: dill, parsley, basil and coriander stalks all work well when stirred into the crème fraîche. By the time the chicken is cooked, this turns into the most amazing sauce.
I like serving this with chunks of good bread and boiled cabbage or the cabbage and cucumber salad, but it would also be lovely with new potatoes or a buttery lemon rice pilau. Any leftovers are delicious stirred through hot stubby pasta.
Blitz the
crème fraîche, herbs, garlic and a generous pinch of salt in a food processor
until smooth. Taste, and add more salt if needed, and some pepper.
Pour the
oil into a roasting tin, add the chicken and spread the herby crème fraîche all
over it, inside and out. If you have time, cover and leave to marinate for a
couple of hours at room temperature, or in the fridge overnight.
Preheat
the oven to 200°C/Fan 180°C/Gas Mark 6.
Cover the
chicken loosely with foil and roast for 45 minutes, basting it a couple of
times, if you remember. Take off the foil and cook for another 15–20 minutes, or until the legs come away from the body
with ease and the juices run clear from the thickest part of the thigh when it
is pierced with the tip of a knife.
Take the
chicken out of the oven and let it rest for 5–10 minutes. Pull the tender meat
from the bones with two forks and mix through the roasting juices, then
serve.