Wednesday Potatoes

Midweek roast? No probs

Back in London and after driving from the deepest parts of the Helford River, not stopping for about 7 hours, I came home to my friend Alex making me Greek chicken soup in my kitchen. She texted me half way through the journey saying she was done with work and did she want me to make her dinner? My instinct is always to be left well alone especially after a trip, but I knew I’d be tired and the thought of arriving home to the warmth and comfort of someone else was too appealing. She could have made me a piece of toast for all I cared.

A few days earlier, I was returning to a different home, the cottage of self-inquiry (which you can read more about in my most recent essay), with a sack of Cornish potatoes in the back of my car and chicken in my bag. A midweek roast is totally doable, as long as you follow the rule of three. There’s no need for too many sides; I’ve always built these types of dinners around three things: the main event (in this case, the chicken), a carby side (potatoes) and something fresh and green (salad).

For ease, I knew I wanted to roast the chicken over the potatoes, which meant using only one pan and conserving all the flavours in one dish. To save time, I always spatchcook the chicken when I’m roasting in the week (saving the backbone in a pot for stock the next day). This chicken was simply salted all over (that means on the skin and inside the cavity - much easier to do when it’s spatchcocked!), then I stuffed butter and a few sprigs of thyme under the skin and drizzled with good olive oil and rubbed everything through.

The Potatoes