Cooking everything together in one pan has some great advantages – all the prep work is done up front, so you can get on with other things once it’s in the oven, the flavours really come together as they cook and there is only one pan to wash up when you’re finished. It makes for a great family friendly recipe and no arguments about who’s doing the dishes. Serve with roasted baby potatoes in their skins or Sweet Potato Chips if weight loss isn’t a priority.
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SERVES 4–6
1 whole chicken, jointed, or 2 breasts,
2 thighs and 2 drumsticks, skin removed
1 tbsp olive oil
1 head of garlic, cut in half horizontally
1 leek, trimmed, halved lengthways and sliced
200ml dry white wine
400ml chicken or vegetable stock
2 thyme sprigs
2 x 400g tins butter beans, drained and rinsed
250g baby spinach leaves
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1. Preheat the oven to 180˚C/gas 4. Season the chicken with salt and pepper.
2. Place a large roasting tray on the hob to warm up and add the oil. Once hot, brown the chicken pieces on all sides until nicely coloured. Turn the chicken skin side up.
3. Add the garlic to the tray, cut side down, then add the leeks and stir around in the oil.
4. Pour in the white wine and allow to bubble for 2 minutes, then add the stock. Use a wooden spoon to scrape up any bits stuck to the bottom.
5. Turn off the heat and add the thyme sprigs, butter beans and spinach, nestling them between the chicken pieces. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper and mix everything together, then put the tray into the preheated oven. Bake for 35–40 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through. Give the tray a stir occasionally to make sure everything is cooking evenly.
6. Remove the tray from the oven and leave to rest for 5 minutes before serving in warm shallow bowls.
TO MAKE IT LESS LEAN
Leave the skin on the chicken if you aren’t watching your weight, and follow the recipe above but be careful not to pour the wine or stock over the browned skin because it won’t crisp up properly in the oven.
Recipe extracted from Gordon Ramsay’s Ultimate Fit Food by Gordon Ramsay.
Photographer to credit: Jamie Orlando Smith
