Roast to the occasion

Oven roasted vegetables

INGREDIENTS:

• Vegetables (baby pumpkin, red bell peppers, sweet potato, baby carrot, red onion and baby potatoes).
• Sprigs of thyme and rosemary
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Drizzle of olive oil

Method

• Preheat oven to 475 degrees F (245 degrees C)
• In a large bowl, combine baby pumpkin, red bell peppers, sweet potato, baby carrot and baby potatoes. Separate red onion quarters into pieces, and add to mixture.
• In a small bowl, stir together thyme, rosemary, olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper
• Toss with vegetables until they are coated. Spread evenly on a large roasting pan
• Roast for 35 to 40 minutes in the preheated oven, stirring every 10 minutes, or until vegetables are cooked through and browned.

Roast Chicken recipe

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 whole chicken with skin
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 large bunch fresh thyme
• 1 lemon (halved)
• 1 head garlic, cut in half (crosswise)
• 2 tbsp (1/4 stick) butter (melted)
• 1 large yellow onion (thickly sliced)
• 4 carrots cut into 2-inch chunks
• 1 bulb fennel, tops removed, and cut into wedges
• Olive oil

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 180*C.
• Remove the chicken giblets. Rinse chicken inside and out. Remove excess fat and leftover pin feathers and pat outside dry. Liberally salt and pepper the inside.
• Stuff cavity with bunch of thyme, both halves of lemon, and all the garlic. Brush the outside of the chicken with butter and sprinkle again with salt and pepper.
• Tie legs together with a kitchen string, tuck wing tips under the body of the chicken.
• Place onions, carrots and fennel in a roasting pan. Toss with salt, pepper, 20 sprigs of thyme and olive oil. Spread around the bottom of the roasting pan, and place the chicken on top.
• Roast chicken for 1-1/2 hours, or until the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and thigh.
• Remove chicken and vegetables onto a platter, and cover with aluminum foil for about 20 minutes
• Slice chicken onto a platter, and serve with vegetables.

— Recipes courtesy Executive Chef, Gaurav Anand