Ingredients
- 4 poussins
- 5 garlic cloves
- 2 lemons
- 2 carrots, halved
- 1 onion, cut into wedges
- 1 small bunch parsley
- 25g butter
- 1 chicken stock cube
- 1 tsp cornflour
- 250ml cold water
- Freshly ground salt and pepper, to season
- Roasted New Potatoes:
- 1 ½ lb small new potatoes (red or yellow skins), cleaned and halved or quartered
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 to 2 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped
- ¼ tsp cooking salt
- Freshly ground pepper, to season
- To serve (as desired):
- 300g green beans
Method
- Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C / 400 F / Gas Mark 6.
- Place the poussins in a large roasting tin, add ‘dots’ of butter and season well with the freshly ground salt and pepper. Grate the zest of the lemons and put that to one side, then cut the lemons in half and pop them into the roasting tin. Now add four of the garlic cloves, along with the onion, carrots, and stalks from the parsley.
- Finally add the cold water to the roasting tin and place it into the oven to roast for 1 hour, until the poussins are fully cooked and the juices run clear when a skewer is inserted into the meat.
- As soon as the birds are in the oven, begin preparing the potatoes.
- Place the potatoes in a large bowl and add the garlic, olive oil, rosemary, salt and pepper; toss them until the potatoes are fully and evenly coated in seasoning.
- Now, take a sturdy roasting pan and spread the potatoes out in a single layer. Place the pan in the oven and roast for at least 40 minutes, until the potatoes are cooked through and browned. [NB: This may take a little longer than 40 minutes, as the oven will be at a slightly lower temperature for the poussins than it would be if you were just roasting the potatoes by themselves.]
- Make sure you cook the green beans, for 8 to 10 minutes in boiling water (then drain), so that they are ready at the same time as the birds and the potatoes.
- Near the end of cooking the poussins, finely chop the remaining garlic clove and parsley; then 5 minutes before they come out of the oven, sprinkle it over the birds, along with the lemon zest that you put aside earlier.
- When the poussins are fully cooked, remove them from the roasting tin and keep them warm.
- To make the gravy, place the roasting tin onto the hob over a medium-high heat and add the stock cube, along with a little extra water if needed, and bring to the boil, stirring continuously. Once the juices are boiling, mix the cornflour with 1 tbsp of cold water to form a smooth paste, then add this to the juices in the pan and continue to stir, boiling for 1 minute until thickened.
- Once everything is ready, serve each bird on a warm plate with the roasted new potatoes, roasted lemon, green beans and gravy.