Red Curry Roast Chicken with Coconut Sauce

Well hello there.... yes again it's been a little quiet spell! Yes still cooking! Yes still eating! Yes have recipes banked up to share as normal but I definitely knew that we had to share this recipe hot of the stove and onto your monitor/screen.

I am a self-confessed lover of a traditional roast dinner - weekly it would be dished up if I had my way! Even during Summer I am more than happy to sit down to a roast and usually the first one to suggest "let's have a roast?" or "do you fancy a roast?". (I can see my husband rolling his eyes now LOL). I guess it stems to my childhood where it was abnormal not to have a roast dinner on a Sunday.

My mam and dad loved to host a houseful of people (mostly family) every Sunday, either for lunch or dinner. To be fair my dad was always the instigator, always inviting people, he loved to entertain. He loved to see people enjoying themselves. I know this gave him so much pleasure and was one of his greatest qualities. I always recall that the table was always full of both people and food not to mention wine. My parents just had this incredible way of making an average size joint of meat feed so many and no one left hungry but everyone left happy.

Looking back makes me smile as I remember those Sundays... so many fantastic memories that I treasure and forever hold in my heart.

Of course with my family being Welsh it was always very traditional when it came to the side dishes and trimmings. We only ever had Yorkshire Puddings with beef (except for a mid week treat of Toad in the Hole), mint jelly with lamb and of course if we had pork we were treated to apple sauce. Not to mention that every roast has to be served with lashings of thick meaty gravy just to top it off. I must say, with us (my husband, who is English, and I), the same traditions remain the same and we have instilled these little traditions with our children also. However, they will say that their favourite roast is Beef but I secretly know it's only for the Yorkshire Puddings as they would each eat a plate full of them if they could!

What's your favourite roast? I love all roasts so that's a really hard question for me to answer ! To be honest I don't think I have a favourite, well maybe beef, but truth be told I guess it depends what mood I am in.

Of late we have been experimenting with different flavour and styles of roasts - occasionally moving away from tradition just to spice things up a little (less eye rolls when menu planning). While menu planning this week I came across a different recipe for a roast chicken and decided to give it a go - and we are so glad we did.

This Thai inspired roast chicken was bursting with wonderful flavour combinations of red curry, lemongrass, ginger, lime and herbs and was very juicy and tender. I decided to prepare the chicken and allow it to marinade for a few hours to let the herbs penetrate the chicken and deepen the flavours, which I would recommend although following the recipe you would cook as soon as it's prepared. Either way this roast chicken is amazing and hard to believe it fits in with healthy eating as I found this recipe in a Weight Watchers cookbook.

A little tricky and fiddly when it comes to technique but it is definitely worth the time and effort in preparation as the outcome is delicious. Don't be alarmed with the darker skin once cooked it's normal considering the red curry marinade contains sugar which will naturally darken upon cooking. We served this with steamed rice and stir-fried Asian vegetables to complete the meal. I'm sure this will be a hit at your house - it definitely was at ours even thought there was no gravy!!

Red Curry Chicken with Coconut Sauce

(recipe adapted from WW 2021 Essential Companion for Program Success Cookbook)

Serves: 8

💚 9sp per serve

💙 9sp per serve

💜 9sp per serve

cooking spray

2 lemongrass stalks, base and tops trimmed

1/3 cup chopped fresh coriander, plus extra sprigs to serve

1/3 cup chopped fresh mint leaves

3 teaspoons finely grated fresh ginger, plus 1 tablespoon sliced

3/4 teaspoon salt

2.2 kilogram whole chicken

2 limes

1 cup light coconut milk

2 tablespoons Thai Red Curry Paste

1 cup reduced-salt chicken stock

1 teaspoon brown sugar

40 grams chopped roasted peanuts

Preheat oven to 200°C (if cooking as soon as prepared). Set a rack in a medium roasting pan. Lightly spray rack with oil.

Cut 1 lemongrass stem into thirds and set aside. Finely grate the lower 10cm from remaining lemongrass stalk. Combine grated lemongrass, chopped coriander, mint, grated ginger and salt in a small bowl.

Slide your fingers gently underneath the chicken skin of the breasts, legs and thighs to loosen, then rub the lemongrass mixture over the meat and smooth skin back into place.

Cut one lime in half and place in chicken cavity with the sliced ginger and reserved lemongrass pieces.

Tuck wing sunder chicken and tie legs together with kitchen string.

Mix 1 tablespoon coconut milk and 1 tablespoon of curry paste in a small bowl and rub over chicken. Cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight if time permits.

Preheat oven to 200°C (if chicken has been marinating). Set a rack in a medium roasting pan. Lightly spray rack with oil.

Place chicken, breast side up, on rack in prepared pan. Bake for about 1 1/2 hours or until meat thermometer registers 75°C when inserted into thickest part of the thigh.

Transfer chicken to a large plate, cover loosely with foil and rest for 10 minutes.

To make the sauce, drain and discard fat and juices from roasting pan. Place roasting pan on stove top over medium-low heat. Add remaining curry paste and cook, stirring, for about 1 minute or until fragrant. Stir in the stock. Bring to the boil, scraping the browned bits from base of pan. Reduce heat, simmer for about 5 minutes or until reduced to about 3/4 cup. Stir in sugar and remaining coconut milk Simmer for a further 5 minutes or until thickened slightly.

Serve chicken with remaining lime cut into wedges, coriander, peanuts and sauce on the side.

Enjoy!