Tarragon roast chicken

This is the perfect alternative to Sunday roasts and is a real treat for family dinners come the end of the week. I just love the French-style creamy sauce, which tastes delicious with mash. Perfect for indulging!

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 chicken, about 1.5kg
• 50g Lucy Bee coconut oil
• ½ lemon
• 1 large bunch of tarragon
• Himalayan salt and ground black pepper
• Chopped chives, to serve

For the sauce

• 6 shallots, finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 150ml white wine vinegar
• 200ml chicken stock (see book page 181)
• 3 tsp Dijon mustard
• 60ml single cream
• 20g chopped tarragon leaves

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas mark 6.

2. Prepare the chicken for roasting by rubbing it all over with the coconut oil. Put the chicken in a roasting tray and place the lemon half and tarragon inside the chicken. Season well, transfer to the oven and roast for 1¼–1½ hours, or until the juices run clear when the thickest part of the leg is pierced with a skewer. Remove the chicken from the roasting tray and keep warm.

3. Place the tray over a medium heat and add the shallots, garlic and vinegar. Cook until softened, scraping any tasty bits from the bottom of the pan.

4. Add the chicken stock and mustard, stir together and reduce for about 5 minutes. Gradually add the cream and warm through before sprinkling in the chopped tarragon.

5. Carve the chicken. Serve with the tarragon sauce, sprinkled with chopped chives and accompanied by either Roast Potatoes (see page 118) or Potato and Celeriac Mash (see page 119) and steamed broccoli.

From Coconut Oil: Nature’s Perfect Ingredient. Recipe text © 2015 Lucy Bee Limited.