My go to Sunday lunch is a whole roast chicken- there’s something so comforting and therapeutic about the whole process- from preparing to eating. This Provencal version marries sweet roasted grapes and fragrant- aromatic rosemary as a backdrop for the salty roast chicken- and its exquisite.
My friend Christophe, who also happens to supply my vegetables, hails from a small village outside of Arles, which is surrounded by vineyards. He says all the households would prepare a version of this recipe when grapes from the harvest were abundant and in danger of going to waste. This is mostly his Mum’s recipe.
1 oven ready free-range chicken, about 1.8kg
4 sprigs fresh rosemary
1 red onion, cut into quarters, skin left intact
1 lemon
200ml red wine
700g seedless black grapes- ideally on the stalk
300ml white chicken stock- fresh or home-made is best
1 bulb garlic cut in half on the width
Sea salt, black pepper, and olive oil for cooking
Heat an oven to 200 degrees
Put the onion in a roasting tin. Rub the chicken with oil. Season the chicken inside the cavity and the skin, place half a lemon, half a garlic bulb and a sprig of rosemary in the cavity. Place the chicken on the onion and transfer the tray to the oven. Roast the chicken for 30 minutes or until the skin has started to brown and caramelise. Now, turn the heat down to 160 degrees, scatter around the grapes and remaining rosemary and pour around the wine and half the stock. Continue to cook for a further 45 minutes until cooked through- the chicken should be crisp and golden on the outside and the juice should run clear from the thigh when pierced. Remove the chicken from the tray and transfer to a plate. Cover and rest for 15 minutes. Strain all the juices from the tray into a saucepan and transfer the grapes in the tray, back into the oven. Roast for a further 5 minutes until sticky and begin to caramelise.
Add the remaining stock to the saucepan and bring to the boil for 10 minutes or until the juices have reduced and thickened. Serve the chicken with the sticky, sweet grapes and sauce.
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