Rachel Khoo: Hot Bird

First it was burgers, then it was hot dogs, now chicken is the latest obsession for London’s gastronomes. Fads come and go in the Big Smoke, but in my adopted home of Paris the bird has forever been a favourite Friday treat. Many people buy them precooked from the butcher, where the birds are roasted on a spit, dripping their luscious juices on to a gutter of potatoes nestling beneath.

For me, roast chicken is the ultimate comfort food. Maybe it’s the underlying association with home (my mother would regularly whack a bird in the oven for a family Sunday meal). When I roast at home, I love to season mine with zingy Moroccan flavours, which elevate the humble bird to something quite out of the ordinary.

Roast chicken with preserved lemons and za’atar

Serves 3-4

6 preserved lemons

1 handful mixed herbs (tarragon, lemon thyme, oregano with stalks)

30g butter, salted

1 whole free-range organic

chicken (about 1.3kg)

4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed

2 tbsp za’atar

200ml white wine

1 tbsp olive oil

Preheat the oven to 180C/Gas Mark 4. Dice four of the preserved lemons. Roughly chop the leaves of the herbs. Cut the butter into cubes and toss in a little salt and pepper. Place the chicken on a roasting tray. With your fingers, gently loosen the skin above the breast of the chicken, keeping it intact but creating enough space to slip in the butter, chopped herbs, garlic and diced lemons. Rub 1 tbsp of the za’atar on the breast. Place the oregano stalks in the cavity of the chicken with the two remaining lemons. Turn the chicken over so the breast is facing down. Add the white wine to the roasting tray with 100ml water. Pop in the oven for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and turn the chicken over so the breast is facing up. Pat the skin dry with kitchen roll and brush on the olive oil and remaining za’atar. Return to the oven for a further1 hour and 10 minutes, or until cooked.