777. ROAST CHICKEN with CANNELLINI BEAN, CHIVE and BACON SALAD

serves 4


1½kg oven-ready free-range, corn-fed chicken
2 lemons
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Pinch of cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
200 grams smoked back bacon, cut into lardons
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2 410 gram tins of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
2 bunches of chives
2 cos lettuce hearts
2 bunches of watercress, trimmed

Preheat the oven to 375F. Place the chicken on a flame-proof roasting tray. Rub it all over with the juice of half a lemon. Tuck the semi-squeezed lemon half inside the chicken’s cavity. Season the bird with the salt, pepper and cayenne pepper, then rub with the olive oil.

Roast the chicken in the middle of the oven for 30 minutes, then turn it over, so it is lying on its breast. Roast for a further hour. Pierce the thickest part of the thigh with a skewer: it is cooked when the juices run clear. Transfer the cooked chicken to a serving dish and leave to rest in a warm place.

Place the roasting tray over a medium-high heat and briskly fry the bacon in the chicken fat for 5 minutes, or until the bacon is cooked. Add the garlic, fry for 2 minutes more, then add the beans. Once they are hot, remove from the heat, mix in the chives and season to taste with the juice of half a lemon, salt and pepper.

Rip the cos lettuce hearts into easy-to-eat chunks and place in a large bowl with the watercress sprigs. Add the hot beans. Toss thoroughly and divide between four plates. Top with chunks of roast chicken. Serve with extra lemon quarters.


courtesy of: Times Online, UK, June 24, 2007