My recipe for roast chicken

I made this last Saturday and it worked so well I think it's the way I'll cook chicken from now on. I actually bought the chicken from Glasgow's excellent farmers' market just so I could make stock, which I reduce down almost to a glaze and freeze into ice cube trays. Doesn't taste too good in whiskey though!

Ingredients:

One whole chicken
Haggis (or some sort of stuffing, but haggis is great)
Carrots
Onions, or shallots
Bottle of cider (I used Weston's organic cider - probably best not to use White Lightning)
Butter
Olive Oil
Salt and pepper

So, firstly cut some onions into quarters, or halve shallots if you have them, and chop some carrots length ways (I used a packet Tesco's carrot batons, they were reduced and cost 25p, okay?). Heat the oven to around 200-220 degrees centigrade. Stuff the haggis under the skin of the bird, it's best not to stuff it into the cavity as it never really heats through. Paint or rub the chicken with olive oil then rub some butter onto the skin. If you're at all interested the olive oil prevents the butter from burning. Season with salt and pepper then place the chicken on to a bed of the sliced carrots and quartered onions, along with a bit of butter and olive oil, and cook on the high temperature for around twenty minutes.

After this take the chicken out and turn it upside down so that the thighs are facing upwards. This is because you want the chicken to cook evenly. Turn the oven down to around 180-190 degrees and pour in around half a bottle of cider, around 300ml I'd imagine. Make sure the chicken is still resting on the onions and carrots. Give it around 25 minutes upside down in the oven.

For the remainder of the cooking time (if you don't know the right times then check a specialist cooking website) turn the chicken the normal way up with the chicken breasts facing upwards. It's nice to drape a couple of slices of bacon on the top of the chicken at this stage, it will give the skin a pleasant saltiness and adding it at this stage should ensure it doesn't over cook and dry out too much.

When the cooking's complete (check this by piercing the thighs and ensuring the juices run clear) remove the bird from the oven and cover it in foil and leave a warm place to allow the meat to rest for around twenty minutes. You can remove the carrots and onions from the roasting dish and they will form part of the accompaniment to your meal. The sugar in the cider should have caramelised them slightly and they should be rich and unctuous. You can use the remaining liquid left by the juices from the chicken and the remaining cider that hasn't evaporated to make a gravy, which will be quite sweet but should complement the dry wholesomeness of the haggis stuffing.

Probably best served with roast potatoes and some sort of green vegetable, but the hassle of making other veg is overcome by using the carrots and onions that should be imbued with the flavour of the cider and the chicken.

If anyone makes it I hope it works well for you!

I should add that I got the idea of chicken and cider from Keith Floyd, but the recipe's sufficiently different to assuage my guilt!