Recipe > Mains
Roast Lemon, Cumin and Rosemary Chicken
Bored with sunday roasts? Try this recipe, full of soft spices and finished with warm, succulent lemon flavours.

Depending on my mood I'll change the stuffing from rice to couscous.

Serves 4

Ingredients
1x whole chicken
1 Tblsp honey
1Tsp paprika
1Tsp cumin
1 lemon
Rosemary sprigs
sea salt and cracked black pepper

For the stuffing:
110g / 4oz rice
1 Tblsp butter or margarine
1 clove garlic
1/2 onion
55g / 2oz mushrooms
2 Tblsp pine nuts
1 egg

For the gravy:
1 Tblsp flour
1/4 Tsp paprika
1/4 Tsp cumin
250ml / 9fl oz chicken stock
150ml / 5fl oz cream
1 Tblsp lemon juice

Mise-en-Place:
Preheat the oven to 180°C / 350°F
Clean the chicken
Slice the lemon
For the stuffing:
Chop the garlic, onion and mushrooms
For the gravy:
Prepare the stock
Mix the flour with the paprika and cumin

Method:
Make the stuffing:
Cook the rice in lightly salted, boiling water until soft and tender (about 10 minutes)
Drain when done
Heat the butter in a saucepan or wok
Add and 'Brown off' the garlic
Add and 'Brown off' the onions
Add and 'Brown off' the mushrooms
Remove the saucepan from the heat
Stir in the rice, pine nuts and egg

The roast:
Put the chicken in a roasting tray
Fill the chicken's cavity with the stuffing
Rub the honey, paprika, cumin, salt and pepper over the chicken
Layer the lemon slices and rosemary over the chicken
Roast in the oven for 1 to 1.5 hours
To test if the chicken is cooked insert a knife between the leg and breast. The juices should run clear, the flesh and bones should be white. If the flesh is still pink or the juices are red, return to the oven

The gravy:
Remove the chicken from the roasting tray
Place the roasting tray over a medium heat
Stir the flour into the juices that remain in the roasting tray, be sure to scrape loose any sediment that has stuck to the tray. Gently cook the flour until it lightly browns
Pour over the stock, cream and lemon juice
Stir briskly, as the liquid heats the gravy should thicken
Allow to boil for a minute
Strain the gravy through a sieve
Serve

Adjust: The Gravy
Too thin: Reduce the liquid content by rapidly boiling
Too thick: Add more stock
Too bland: Add more lemon juice, stock, salt and pepper
Too bitter: Add more cream

Presentation:
The chicken looks really impressive left whole, I normally bring the chicken to the table and allow my guests to serve themselves.
However, to plate:
Joint the chicken.
Cut the breasts into half along a diagonal line
Cut the legs in half through the knee joint
Arrange the stuffing in the centre of the plate
Cross layer the chicken breast or leg over the stuffing. Aim for height
Garnish with some of the cooked lemon slices and rosemary
Either serve the gravy separately or pour around the plate

Science behind the dish: How flour thickens the gravy
Flour is largely constituted of starch molecules, as these are heated in water not only will the molecule swell but it will begin to unravel. It unravels in the form of elongated strands, these strands tangle with other similar, unraveling starch molecules to form a web or a lattice.
This web of molecules not only slows and traps the water molecules but also reduces the space that the water molecules can freely travel to and from. This is what causes the thickening of the gravy.