Name: Roast chicken with curry leaf dukkah
Ingredients: 25g cashews; 25g raw (aka skinless) peanuts; 25g blanched almonds; 25g blanched hazelnuts; 1 tbsp coriander seeds; 60ml vegetable oil; 10g curry leaves; 25g shop-bought crispy fried shallots; ½ tsp chilli flakes; ¼ tsp salt; 3 onions, sliced into 2cm-thick rings (540g); 100g unsalted butter, at room temperature; 1 medium chicken (about 1.3kg); 2 limes, quartered; 1 small head of garlic, unpeeled and cut in half horizontally; salt and black pepper

Main Comfort

Serves 4

Featured in

Discovering a new way to roast a chicken – the ultimate home cooking comfort food – always feels like a joy. Serve this with those roasted carrots (see page 106) or any other root veg. Some buttered Savoy cabbage is also a lovely accompaniment.

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Ingredients

CURRY LEAF DUKKAH: a mix of any/all of the four nuts (just keep the total net weight of 100g the same)
25g	cashews
25g	raw (aka skinless) peanuts
25g	blanched almonds
25g	blanched hazelnuts
1 tbsp	coriander seeds
60ml	vegetable oil
10g	curry leaves
25g	shop-bought crispy fried shallots
½ tsp	chilli flakes
¼ tsp	salt
ROAST CHICKEN
3	onions, sliced into 2cm-thick rings (540g)
100g	unsalted butter, at room temperature
1	medium chicken (about 1.3kg)
2	limes, quartered
1	small head of garlic, unpeeled and cut in half horizontally
	salt and black pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to 160°C fan.
First make the dukkah. Spread the nuts and coriander seeds on a largeparchment-lined baking tray and roast for 8–10 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
Put the oil into a small frying pan and place on a medium-low heat. Add the curry leaves – they will splutter! – and cook for 30 seconds, until crisp. Drain in a small sieve placed over a bowl, keeping the flavoured oil (this is great for dressings or for drizzling over roasted veg). Tip the leaves out on to a plate lined with kitchen paper and set aside. Once cool, reserve 10 leaves, to garnish, and transfer the remainder to a food processor. Add all the nuts and coriander seeds, along with the crispy fried shallots, chilli flakes and salt. Pulse to form a rough crumble and transfer to a small bowl.
Increase the oven temperature to 190°C fan.
Place the sliced onions on a medium baking tray or casserole dish, sitting in a single layer.
Put 100g of the dukkah into a medium bowl with all the butter and beat together with a wooden spoon until well combined.
Gently separate the skin of the chicken from the flesh with your fingers, or use a small teaspoon, curved side up, to gently slide over the breasts, then the legs. Push small clumps of the softened dukkah butter into the cavities, then use your fingers to massage the skin and spread the butter out. Sprinkle the chicken with 11/4 teaspoons of salt and a few generous grinds of pepper all over. Put half the lime quarters and both the garlic halves inside the cavity, then sit the chicken on top of the onions.
Roast for 1 hour and 10 minutes – covering with foil, if necessary – until golden brown. Switch the oven off, leaving the chicken in there for a further 15 minutes (with the oven door closed). Transfer to a serving plate, sprinkle over the reserved curry leaves and serve, with the remaining wedges of lime and the rest of the dukkah alongside.