Roast chicken with potatoes

There are some recipes that need no introduction as to their deliciousness! However, to make them as good as they can possibly be, it's useful to know a number of insider tips -these will make this chicken even more irresistible, just as if we had been eating it in a real rotisserie! Therefore pay attention to the preparation of the potatoes which should be left to soak in water, and to the times and temperatures .... if you follow these tips you will get a truly amazing roast chicken with potatoes! If you're feeling particularly diligent you could cut the chicken open, smear the inner cavity with the rosemary-flavoured butter, season with salt and then tie it up with butcher's twine. If this seems too complicated, simply do as we did! As for the flavours, this is the basic recipe, but you could spice things up a bit by adding some lemon zest or paprika to your creamed butter.

Cut the potatoes into wedges without peeling them. Put them on to soak with a pinch of baking soda and set aside. Prepare some chopped rosemary and salt and then mix to a paste with the softened butter until really creamy (make sure you remove the butter from the fridge a few hours before). Take the chicken - leaving it whole - and smear the herby butter both under and over its skin. Also add a little butter to the inner cavity of the chicken. Lightly salt the inside of the chicken and add two garlic cloves. Tie the chicken up with butcher's twine to prevent it from falling apart during cooking. Place the chicken on a baking sheet covered with baking parchment. Roast at 200°C in a non-fan oven for 25 minutes. In the meantime, change the potato water and add a pinch of salt. At the end of this first 25 minutes of cooking time, drain the potatoes and add them to the pan with the chicken: turn them in fat that the chicken has released and add a few drops of water. Turn the chicken add a pinch of salt. Return to the oven for another 25 minutes (10 minutes more if necessary to give the skin some more crispiness) still at 200°C. For the last 5 minutes, to give extra crispiness, raise the oven temperature another 30-40°C.