Chicken with butter and herbs
ALGO EXTRA Para el gratinado de patatas, corta 1,2 kg de patatas peladas en rodajas lo más finas posible (una mandolina funciona bien). Engrasa una fuente para hornear profunda de 28 x 17 cm con 1 cucharada de mantequilla y comienza a apilar las rodajas de patata de manera que se superpongan parcialmente.
- 70g butter
- 30 g herbs
- 400 ml chicken broth
- Preheat the oven to 230 °C. Season the chicken with salt and pepper on all sides.
- In a bowl, mash the butter and herbs into a paste. Carefully rub as much of the herb paste as possible under the skin of the chicken breast, being careful not to break the skin – the aim is to create two 'butter pockets' on the breast and then use your fingers to spread them out over as much of the breast muscle as possible. Brush the remaining butter over the thighs and outer breast of the chicken.
- Place a whole apple in the cavity (the apple will reduce the risk of the meat drying out) and tie the chicken's legs with kitchen string.
- Place the chicken in a deep baking dish with a lid and pour in the stock. Cover and bake for 30 minutes.
- Then uncover the baking dish, reduce the temperature to 200°C and roast the chicken for another 45–60 minutes until golden brown. Baste the chicken with the sauce regularly during the roasting process and add more stock as needed. Check that the meat is cooked through before serving.
- Remove the baked chicken from the oven, let it rest briefly, and serve with a side dish of your choice.
SOMETHING EXTRA For the potato gratin, slice 1.2 kg of peeled potatoes as thinly as possible (a mandoline works well). Grease a 28 x 17 cm deep baking dish with 1 tablespoon of butter and start stacking the potato slices in it so that they partially overlap. Lightly salt and pepper each layer of potatoes and sprinkle with a little mustard seeds (you will need about 4 tablespoons in total), a little from 2 crushed garlic cloves - make sure that you have some mustard seeds left on top, you only need the garlic inside and it is okay if it does not reach all the layers. Continue layer by layer until the baking dish is full. Finally, pour in 360 ml of whipping cream, place the butter slices and sprinkle with a little of the reserved mustard seeds. Bake in the oven at 200°C until golden brown, about 30-40 minutes. Let cool for at least 5 minutes before slicing.