This is a very summery way to enjoy a roast chicken. Once you’ve served up a plate, all the flavours get to know each other and you can dip the roast potatoes in the herby salsa verde, scoop up a bit of ricotta and enjoy a really great mouthful. The chicken is roasted in a very simple way, a method you can take with you and use in the future. The heat from the chilli in the salsa verde really makes it sing, with those salty capers too it’s a great treat. Make this for your friends or family and enjoy with a nice glass of wine.  

Feeds 4-6.  

Ingredients: 

Salsa Verde: 

• 1 bunch of mint 
• 1 bunch of basil 
• 1 heaped tablespoon of capers, chopped 
• 1-2 teaspoons dried red chilli flakes 
• 1 clove garlic, finely grated 
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar 
• ½ cup olive oil, and more if needed 

Everything else: 

• 1 whole chicken, approx. 1.8kg – 2kg 
• 1 whole lemon 
• A small handful of sage, thyme, rosemary and oregano (or any combo of these) 
• ½ cup olive oil 
• A few pinches of salt 
• 10-12 kipfler potatoes, washed 
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar 
• 1 whole head of garlic, cut in half 
• 200g shelled broad beans 
• 200g peas 
• 400g ricotta 

Method: 

1. If you are using fresh broad beans, pop enough out of their pods until you have 200g.  
2. Preheat oven to 220 C. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with baking paper.  
3. Add whole washed kipfler potatoes to a large pot of water and bring to a boil. Once boiling cook for 8-10 minutes. Remove from water and set aside to cool. Leave the water boiling on the stove. Throw in your broad beans and given them about 90 seconds in the boiling water. Add the peas for the final 30 seconds. Drain and rinse these under cold water. Or place them straight into an ice bath. From here, you can start double shelling your broad beans, squeeze each of them to remove their skin. 
4. Prepare your salsa verde, finely chop your herbs, reserving some leaves of each for serving. Add to a small bowl with capers, chilli, garlic, vinegar and olive oil. Combine gently with a spoon. This should be very wet and not too thick, so add more oil if needed. 
5. Pat dry your chicken and place in the centre of your lined baking sheet. Halve your lemon and stuff the cavity with both halves and the small handful of herbs. Tie the legs tightly with some kitchen twine.  
6. Your potatoes should now be coolish, gently slice them in half longways and toss in a bowl with your apple cider vinegar, a pinch of salt and a tablespoon of your olive oil. Then place them cut side down around your chicken. Try not to overlap them, they like a bit of breathing space to get nice and crispy. Add your halved garlic heads too.  
7. Add the rest of the oil to the skin of your chicken and massage the skin to coat evenly, all around. Season generously with salt and place into the oven for 40 minutes.  
8. While the chicken and potatoes are busy roasting, whip your ricotta. In a medium sized bowl, add your ricotta and a pinch of salt. Using a whisk or hand beater, beat until nice and smooth and a little fluffy. Set aside.  
9. After 40 minutes, rotate your tray in the oven and cook for a further 20-25 minutes, or until an instant read thermometer poked into the inner thigh, near the breast but not touching the bone, reads 75 C. Remove from the oven and leave to sit for 5 minutes or so before carving. I like to quarter the chicken, two breasts, two legs and any further carving can happen at the table, if needed.  
10. Add your roast potatoes and roast garlic to a medium sized bowl for serving.  
11. Choose a nice large serving plate and smear your whipped ricotta all over the bottom. Top with chicken quarters and broad beans and peas and drizzle generously with about half of your salsa verde. Serve the leftovers at the table so people can add more if they like. Then add your mint and basil leaves and voila! A feast for you and yours.  

Clementine Day is a self-taught cook who lives and works on Wurundjeri Land in Melbourne, Australia. She runs Some Things I Like To Cook, an evolving project that celebrates the joy of food, drawing a meaningful connection between food, people and play. 

With a relaxed and unfussy approach, Clementine’s recipes empower even the most inexperienced of cooks to create memorable experiences based around the simple act of eating and entertaining. She is passionate about encouraging others to have fun and trust their intuition in the kitchen, and her candid, refreshing approach to recipe writing feels like having a supportive best friend alongside as your cooking companion.

Clementine works on collaborative projects with a vast array of different creatives. This includes recipe development and contribution, dining projects, food styling, private lunches and dinners, and creative food publications. In 2020, Clementine released her first cookbook Coming Together, a collection of recipes based on six long lunches she hosted with friends, which she cooked, photographed, styled and self-published. 

Follow Clementine on Instagram here.