Wild Garlic Roast Chicken
Local food & lifestyle blogger Jess has kindly shared her simple yet delicious recipe for a Wild Garlic Roast Chicken. Jess only buys Sutton Hoo Chicken since moving to Suffolk- "I'm passionate about cooking and creating dishes that are as sustainable as possible, moving to Suffolk has made that so much easier as there's such an amazing selection of local, seasonal produce to use!" You can find Jess on Instagram @restless_nester.
The Wild garlic season is coming to an end here in the UK but the leaves can still be used and when the flower heads have turned to buds they can be pickled and used to add garlicky flavours later in the year. Both the leaves and flowers of the wild plant are edible. The buds begin to sprout flowers from April and can be harvested all the way through until June. They have a much more pungent, garlicy flavour that can add a huge kick to a variety of dishes.
Ingredients
1 Sutton Hoo whole chicken (with giblets)
150g wild garlic
100g butter
2 onions or 6 shallots
Sea salt
200ml chicken stock
Method
1. Allow the whole chicken to come to room temperature and pre-heat an oven to 180 degrees/gas mark 6.
2. Wash, drain and finely chop the wild garlic leaves, ensuring that any thicker stems and any flowers are kept to one side. Place the butter in a small pan and gently heat until it has melted, add the chopped wild garlic leaves and allow this to infuse and cool slightly.
3. Remove giblets from the chicken and place these in a large roasting tray. Chop the onions or shallots into quarters and place these in the tray with the giblets and then place the whole chicken on top of this.
4. Pour the butter and wild garlic mixture over the chicken ensuring all of the skin is well covered. Use the wild garlic stems to stuff the cavity and season well. Cook in the oven in accordance with the timings given for the size of bird, baste the chicken in the juices halfway through cooking.
5. Before taking the chicken out of the oven to rest, check that it is thoroughly cooked by ensuring all the juices run clear. Once cooked, lift the chicken onto a board or serving plate and decorate with the wild garlic flowers.
6. Place the roasting pan over heat and deglaze with the chicken stock, strain the pan juices and check for seasoning. Serve the chicken with seasonal vegetables and spoon over the hot pan juices.
7. Use any leftover chicken bones and seasonal veg scraps (asparagus stalks are especially good!) to make a delicious Sutton Hoo chicken stock!
Image credit: Jess @restless_nester.
