Roast chicken with parmesan & thyme dauphinoise potatoes

Break away from your usual roast chicken and potatoes with this version that uses the meat juices to baste a creamy dauphinoise. It’s sure to impress for Sunday lunch

Prep:30 mins
Cook:1 hrs 30 mins

Serves 4
Easy

Nutrition per serving

kcal 976
fat 67g
saturates 35g
carbs 41g
sugars 0g
fibre 5g
protein 50g
salt 1g

Ingredients

25g butter, at room temperature
1.2kg Maris Piper or King Edward potatoes, peeled and very finely sliced – for the best results, use a mandoline or the slicing blade of a food processor
15g parmesan, finely grated
small bunch of thyme, leaves picked and stalks reserved for the chicken
300ml double cream
1 chicken (about 1.5kg)
3 unpeeled garlic cloves, bashed once with the side of a knife
3 bay leaves
cooked cabbage or kale, to serve (optional)

Method

Heat the oven to 190C/170C/gas 5. Brush a quarter of the butter over a medium casserole dish, arrange a layer of potatoes in the bottom of the dish, then scatter with a little parmesan, thyme, a drizzle of the cream and salt and pepper. Continue until you’ve used up all the potato slices, most of the thyme (reserve some to serve, if you like) and about half the cream, then pour the rest of the cream over the final layer.
Season the chicken with salt and pepper and put the thyme stalks, garlic and bay in the cavity, then rub over the remaining butter. For the best results, sit a roasting rack or ovenproof cooling rack over the gratin dish and sit the chicken over the gratin so the juices can drip into the potatoes. If you don’t have a roasting or cooling rack, simply sit the chicken in the middle of the gratin. Roast for 1 hr 20 mins until the chicken skin is golden and it’s cooked through. To check, pierce the thigh with a skewer – the juices should run clear.
When the chicken is ready, remove everything from the oven and turn it up to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Use tongs
to lift the chicken onto a board, allowing any juices from the cavity to drizzle over the potatoes as you lift it. Remove the rack, if using, and use a spatula to press the potatoes down, then return to the oven for 10 mins to brown while the chicken rests. Remove the potatoes from the oven, scatter over the reserved thyme, if you like, and leave for 5 mins before serving alongside the chicken. Serve with leafy greens like cabbage or kale.

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