Lemon and Garlic Slow Roasted Chicken

Photo: flickr user kochtopf

Ingredients

1 lrg chicken weighing about 2.3kg

2 bulbs garlic

2 lrg lemons

1 salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon fruity olive oil

2 tablespoons sunflower oil

Preparation

2 X 300g packets mushroom or italian style stir fry or stir fry vegetables of your own choice finely shredded

Aga equipment:small roasting tin on third set of runners in roasting oventhen second set of runners in simmering oven

Trim the leg tips and wing tips from the chicken and remove any excess fat from the neck of the bird (keep the chicken fat if you are likely to make a confit in the next few days).

Season the chicken inside and out.

Separate the garlic into cloves but do not bother to peel them.

Place about two thirds of the cloves inside the chicken and the rest in the bottom of the roasting tin sitting the chicken on top of them.

Pare the zest from the lemons and cover it in plastic wrap for later use as a garnish.

Rub the juice into the chicken inside and out then rub the olive oil over the breast.

Roast the chicken quickly for 30 minutes then transfer it to the simmering ovenand cook for at least 4 hours.

Stand for 10 to 15 minutes before carving or if you have left the chicken for six hours or more pulling the joints apart for serving.

Heat a wok or large frying pan for 5 minutes on the floor of the roasting ovenwhile the chicken is standing. Transfer the wok to the boiling plateand add the sunflower oil.

Stir fry the vegetables in the oil for 3 to 4 minutes then serve the chicken on the vegetables or mixed in with them if the meat has fallen off the bone.

I often cook chicken with lemon and tarragon but the flavour of this pungent herb is lost if the cooking period is too long. So for slow aga roasting I use a mixture of lemon and garlic.

Serves 6