Roast Chicken with Homemade Almond Pesto & Honey-Roasted Root Veg

You know Autumn has officially arrived when Sundays are centred around feasting on roast dinners with friends and family! Contrary to popular belief. there doesn't need to be blood, sweat and tears involved in the production of these. Simply roasting a variety of root veg in the same pan as the chicken makes for the perfect stress-free and nutritious dinner. You can mix and match the root veg based on what you love, but my main advice would be to experiment with as many colours as possible to benefit from different protective nutrients (think purple carrots, golden beetroots...). Using this easy homemade almond pesto on the chicken also adds another dimension!

Servings: 4-6

Time: 1 hour 50 minutes

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Ingredients

1.5kg whole organic free-range chicken

1 lemon, halved

1 kg root vegetables, peeled and chopped

• carrots

• beetroot

• parsnips

• sweet potatoes

• celeriac

• onions

• garlic

2 tbsp clear honey

3 tbsp olive oil

5 thyme sprigs, leaves only

salt and pepper

Pesto:

25g blanched almonds

1 large bunch basil, chopped

25g parmesan grated

1 garlic clove, chopped

1/2 lemon, zest and juice

100ml extra virgin olive oil

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Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200C fan.

2. To make the pesto, simply add the almonds, basil, parmesan, garlic, lemon juice/zest, salt, and pepper to a small food processor or high-speed blender. Mix to form a rough paste, then scrape down the sides of the processor, turn it back on and slowly drizzle in the olive oil until everything is fully combined.

3. Layout the chicken on a large roasting tray and stuff the cavity with the lemon halves. Then, using your fingers, make a pocket between the skin and flesh and rub in about a third of the pesto. Rub the outside with another third. Roast for 20 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, toss the root vegetables with the honey, olive oil and thyme and season with salt and pepper.

5. Turn the oven down to 180C fan, scatter the vegetables around the chicken and roast for another 50 minutes until the chicken juices run clear and the root veg are golden and slightly crispy,

6. Set the chicken aside to rest covered loosely with foil to maintain heat and use the roasting juices from the tin to make a gravy.

7. Drizzle the remaining pesto over the chicken and veg and serve with gravy and some greens.