Roast Chicken with Preserved Lemon

This super simple, super delicious roast chook is my kind of comfort food. I love the combination of chicken, rice and yoghurt, but you could serve crispy smashed potatoes with it if you prefer. I also love preserved lemons, but it always seems a bit wasteful to throw away the flesh and only use the skin. Then a friend told me she saves the flesh and puts it inside the cavity of a chicken she’s roasting. Roast chicken with preserved lemon rind and flesh, genius! Ideally use the flesh of two large preserved lemons even though you only need the skin from one; either save the flesh from another recipe, or pop the skin from the second lemon back in the jar (just ensure it’s completely submerged in the brine). I really enjoy a glass of Callejuela Blanco De Hornillos with this roast chicken with preserved lemon.

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 x 1.5kg chicken
2 large preserved lemons
Extra virgin olive oil, for rubbing
2 red onions, halved and cut into eighths
1 bunch thyme
Salt flakes, to taste
Steamed rice, for serving
Green salad, for serving (see video below)
Natural yoghurt, for serving

Method

Preheat oven to 220°C.
Wipe cavity of the chicken out with paper towel and pat skin dry.
Separate the skin of the preserved lemon from the flesh, keeping both.
Put the flesh inside the cavity of the chicken.
Pour oil generously into a baking dish, rub it all over the chicken and put the chicken in the dish.
Finely slice the skin of 1 preserved lemon into thin strips, reserving the rest for another dish.
Scatter the lemon and onion around the chicken, tossing it in the oil.
Sprinkle the thyme leaves over the chicken, tucking a sprig or 2 underneath and inside the cavity.
Sprinkle chicken generously with salt.
Place in oven for 1 hour then remove and set aside in a warm place for 5 minutes.
Cut up the chicken, discarding the lemon flesh.
Serve with rice, salad and yoghurt, with the cooking juices spooned over the rice.