Makes 2 very large salads
Ingredients
FOR THE ROAST CHICKEN
- olive oil
- 1 free-range chicken
- sea salt
- freshly ground pepper
- a small bunch of fresh thyme
- 1 lemon
- 3 cloves of garlic
FOR THE SALAD
- 1 buckwheat loaf (or multi grain loaf) unsliced
- 6 each baby heirloom carrots (sliced into rounds or lengthwise with a mandolin)
- a handful of toasted hickory nuts
- 1 head of Gem lettuce or your favorite. Cleaned and torn into bite size pieces
- extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoon wholegrain mustard
- quince vinegar or cider vinegar
- a bunch of fresh flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked
- a bunch of fresh mint , leaves picked
- 4 each scallions
- a bunch of red veined sorrel
Preheat your oven to 400°F Drizzle olive oil all over the chicken and sprinkle it with salt and pepper. Put the thyme leaves in the butt of the chicken! Then halve the lemon and put it inside the cavity with the thyme stalks. Put the chicken onto a large roasting tray and cook in the oven for 1 hour 15 minutes or until the chicken is golden and the juices from the thigh run clear when pricked with a knife. (It all depends on how strong your oven game is, it could take less time)
Transfer the roasted chicken to a plate, cover with tin foil and leave to cool. Tear the bread into the roasting tray in thumb-sized torn croutons, then toss them in all the cooking juices from the chicken. Spread the croutons out in the tray. Pop back in the oven for around 15 to 18 minutes, or until everything is crispy and golden.
Meanwhile, remove all the chicken skin and set aside, then use two forks to strip every last bit of meat off the bone. Pile the meat into a large bowl and drizzle over any resting juices from the plate.
Next Add 6 tablespoons of good-quality extra virgin olive oil, the wholegrain mustard and a few good swigs of quince vinegar or cider vinegar. Chop up the parsley (leave some whole for presentation) and mint leaves and finely slice the scallions. Add them to the bowl. Next add the sliced carrots and hickory nuts. Toss everything together, then have a taste and adjust with more vinegar or seasoning if you like.
Once the croutons are golden, quickly tear the chicken skin into the roasting tray (skip this if you want a healthier salad) and put back into the oven just until it crisps up again. When it’s looking crispy, Toss everything together with the gem lettuce and serve in the middle of the table.