Roast Chicken with spiced Peaches
This is peach heaven! Finally the fruits are so juicy and ripe, that every bite into their velvety skin is so sweet and refreshing that I eat them every day, in the morning, for lunch or as an after dinner dessert. As always, I can't stop myself at the market, I buy them in bulk, the round and yellow ones, round and white and the flat galaxy (or vineyard) peaches. The whole variety finds its place in my kitchen! Sometimes I end up with more than we can eat, so peach jam is definitely on my list but for now I use them in my Roast Chicken with spiced Peaches.
A few years ago I cooked a roast chicken recipe from a Jamie Oliver book, he prepares the meat with pineapple and spices and purées some of the fruit to a thick sauce. My boyfriend who loves this dish cooks it quite often, we changed a few things and always replace the pineapple with peaches, rub the chicken with lemon oil and add some thyme which is great in this combination. The two of us disagree on one point and that's how much of the fruit should be turned into a smooth sauce. He prefers lots of sauce and I like it chunky, so it's up to you how much of the roasted peaches you put in the food processor. He is for a half - half ratio and I prefer 1:3!
Either way it tastes delicious, fruity and spicy, the meat is perfectly juicy and the skin is crisp - you can't ask for more when there's roast chicken on your table!
The leftovers, meat and sauce, are great on a sandwich!
Roast Chicken with spiced Peaches
For 2-3 people (or 4 if you have a starter and dessert) you need
free range/ organic chicken 1,5kg / 3.5 pounds
big galaxy (vineyard) peaches, quartered, 8
bell pepper, cut into strips, 150g / 5.5 ounces
small red onions, cut into 8 pieces, 3
fresh red chili pepper, finely chopped, 1/2
fresh ginger, a 2cm / 3/4" piece, thinly sliced
garlic, 3 cloves, 1 thinly sliced and 2 in their skin
thyme, a small bunch
parsley, the leaves of a small bunch
freshly squeezed lemon juice 1 tablespoon
olive oil 2 tablespoons plus more for the peaches
fennel seeds, slightly crushed in a mortar, 1 tablespoon
black peppercorns, crushed in a mortar, 1 teaspoon
coarse sea salt, 1 teaspoon
Set the oven to 200°C / 390°F (I use the Rotitherm roasting setting).
Put the peaches, bell pepper and onions in a baking dish and mix with the chili, ginger, the slices of garlic and a splash of olive oil. Lay half the thyme and parsley on top.
Whisk the lemon juice and olive oil and rub into the chicken's skin. Place the chicken on top of the vegetables, stuff it with the rest of the herbs and sprinkle with pepper, salt and fennel seeds and rub slightly into the skin.
Roast for 45 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Check with a skewer, only clear juices should come out. If you want the skin to be a bit more crisp turn on the grill for the last 1-2 minutes.
Set the chicken aside. Take out the thyme, peel the garlic out of its skin and put together with 1/3 to 1/2 of the fruit, vegetables and parsley into the food processor and purée to a smooth sauce. Season with salt and pepper to taste and enjoy together with a juicy chicken breast or leg and some chunky fruit.
