Tatties Bojangles

My boy treated me to a gorgeous roast dinner tonight; roast chicken with tomato gravy and roast potatoes on the side. I'm usually more a fan of the red meats when it comes to roasting, but this was sooo good.

Everything came from the market of course, except the shallots which came from our neighbourhood butcher W. Christie. It's a fantastic family-run shop who know us by name - one of the sons taught us how to make perfect crackling!

This is definitely a rustic style meal, but you can't beat it for proper comfort food. We're not big choppers in our house, so if it can be crushed, mashed or left unpeeled, you can be assured it will be!

Roast chicken with tomato gravy

Medium organic chicken (Hugh Grierson)
Giblets
6 shallots, quartered (W Christie butchers, Bruntsfield)
8-10 vine tomatoes (JM Craig)
Chilli infused rapeseed oil (Summer Harvest)
Sea salt
Green peppercorns, crushed

Preheat oven to 180*C

Rub the bird with sea salt and green peppercorns. Drizzle a roasting pan with the chilli oil, place the bird in the centre and arrange the shallots and tomatoes around it. Place in oven to roast for about 1.5 hours, depending on the size of the bird. Prepare the potatoes and roast alongside the chicken.

Meanwhile simmer the giblets in some water and a pinch of salt.

Remove the bird from the oven and place onto a serving platter and leave covered in a warm place to rest. Whilst the bird is sitting nicely, add a spoonful of plain flour to the juices and whisk well to remove the lumps; then strain the giblet stock directly into the roasting tray. Simmer gently, breaking up the tomatoes with a wooden spoon. Season if needed.


Roasted chilli potatoes with brussels sprouts

500g roasting potatoes, peeled (Phantassie)
10-15 brussels sprouts, scored with an X (Phantassie)
Chilli oil (Summer Harvest)
Dried chilli flakes
Sea salt

Drizzle plenty of chilli oil into a roasting tray and heat in the bottom tier of the oven.

Slice potatoes about 4-5 mm thick. Toss directly into the hot roasting tray and heat quickly on the hob a few minutes until the potato slices are coated. Season with sea salt and chilli flakes. Place in the bottom of the oven with the roasting chicken.

About 30 mins before the chicken is ready, toss in the brussels sprouts and continue to roast until tender. This is the simplest potato recipe I have come across - no parboiling!

We ate this with Phantassie's beetroot relish rather than the more traditional cranberry sauce, and it was lush.