WHAT VEGETABLES ROAST WELL TOGETHER RECIPES

Steps:

• 1. To prepare your vegetables:
  2. Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas 6. Halve and deseed the pepper, then cut each half into 4 pieces. Peel the red onion and cut into 8 wedges. Carefully cut the squash in half then scoop out and discard the seeds. Cut each half into 2cm chunks. Wash and trim the baby leeks. Halve the courgettes lengthways then slice into 2cm chunks. Top and tail the aubergine, cut it into quarters, then into 2cm chunks. Quarter the tomatoes. Leave the cloves of garlic in their skins but squash them with the heel of your hand.
  3. Put all the veg in an extra large roasting tray, or 2 smaller ones. Crush the coriander seeds in a pestle and mortar then scatter over the veg with a good pinch of salt and pepper. Pick and roughly chop the rosemary leaves. Pick the thyme leaves. Scatter all of the herbs over the veg. Drizzle it all well with olive oil, then toss to coat.
  4. To cook and serve your vegetables: Roast your veg in the hot oven for around 50 minutes, or until soft, golden and cooked through. Serve with anything from roast chicken to grilled meats or fish, or try tossing with pasta or couscous for a simple veggie meal.
  5. Jamie's top tips:
  6. If the vegetables seem crowded in a single roasting pan, divide them between two. Overcrowding the pan will stop enough heat getting to the vegetables and they will steam rather than roast.
  7. Turning the vegetables as they roast helps them to cook evenly. If you’re using two roasting pans, swap them round half way through cooking. Roasting is a great way to make veg taste delicious, and it works for just about any combo – just make sure your oven is fairly hot, the veg are roughly the same size and that they get a good stir every now and again.
  8. You can also make this ahead of time and eat it cold – it’s just as delicious!

Steps:

• 1. Remove the chicken from the fridge 30 minutes before you want to cook it, to let it come up to room temperature.
  2. Preheat the oven to 240°C/475°F/gas 9.
  3. Wash and roughly chop the vegetables – there’s no need to peel them. Break the garlic bulb into cloves, leaving them unpeeled.
  4. Pile all the veg, garlic and herbs into the middle of a large roasting tray and drizzle with oil.
  5. Drizzle the chicken with oil and season well with sea salt and black pepper, then rub all over the bird. Place the chicken on top of the vegetables.
  6. Carefully prick the lemon all over, using the tip of a sharp knife (if you have a microwave, you could pop the lemon in these for 40 seconds at this point as this will really bring out the flavour). Put the lemon inside the chicken’s cavity, with the bunch of herbs.
  7. Place the tray in the oven, then turn the heat down immediately to 200°C/400°F/gas 6 and cook for 1 hour 20 minutes.
  8. If you’re doing roast potatoes and veggies, this is the time to crack on with them – get them into the oven for the last 45 minutes of cooking.
  9. Baste the chicken halfway through cooking and if the veg look dry, add a splash of water to the tray to stop them from burning.
  10. When the chicken is cooked, take the tray out of the oven and transfer the chicken to a board to rest for 15 minutes or so. Cover it with a layer of tin foil and a tea towel and leave aside while you make your gravy.
  11. To carve your chicken, remove any string and take off the wings (break them up and add to your gravy, along with the veg trivet, for mega flavour). Carefully cut down between the leg and the breast. Cut through the joint and pull the leg off.
  12. Repeat on the other side, then cut each leg between the thigh and the drumstick so you end up with four portions of dark meat. Place these on a serving platter.
  13. You should now have a clear space to carve the rest of your chicken. Angle the knife along the breastbone and carve one side off, then the other.
  14. When you get down to the fussy bits, just use your fingers to pull all the meat off, and turn the chicken over to get all the tasty, juicy bits from underneath. You should be left with a stripped carcass, and a platter full of lovely meat that you can serve with your piping hot gravy and some delicious roast veg.