Allow me to introduce you to your new favourite way of cooking roast chicken.
Ingredients:
one chicken
one lemon
one cup of french puy lentils
half a red onion, chopped
3 slices smokey bacon
1 cup white wine
1/2 cup chicken stock
Saute onion and bacon in a little oil. If you've got an ovenproof pan with low-ish sides, use this - then you can cook the chicken in it afterwards (less washing up!).
When the onion's soft, add the lentils and stir. Add wine, stir for a minute, add chicken stock. Season with salt and pepper.
Wash and dry the chicken, drizzle with a little olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper. Place the chicken on top of the lentils. Put half the lemon in the chicken's cavity. Slice the other half of the lemon and lay on the breast of the chicken.
Roast in a 180 degree centigrade oven for a good hour or until the chicken's cooked. Add extra chicken stock if the lentils seems to dry out - you want them to always be covered with liquid. Remove the lemons in the last 10 - 15 minutes so the skin browns.
Remove chicken and let it rest. Stir the lentils, over a heat if you need to reduce the liquid.
Cut up chicken and serve.
This is delish. It's very similar to how I cook lamb on a bed of lentils, but using white wine and chicken stock instead of red wine and beef stock adds a whole different taste to the lentils.
So good.
