Summery Chicken Pot Roast

Don't you just love a dish that you can prepare well in advance and just leave to tick over for a few hours knowing you'll have something splendid to serve when you're ready. Well here's just the thing. Pot roast Chicken. Get all your veg ready, place in the bottom of the pot, place the chicken on top and slowly roast until you're ready.... Here's what I used but you can use whatever vegetables you have t hand that would go well with chicken.

Ingredients to serve 6

a 3 to 4lb prepared chicken

2 celery hearts cut into quarters lengthwise

2 large onions sliced thinly &

sauteed until tender but not brown.

6 medium carrots cut across into large chunks

1 whole garlic bulb....top cut across but kept in one piece

24 or so small new potatoes

18 or so small tomatoes added towards the end of cooking 

1 pt of well seasoned chicken stock  preferably homemade

4oz pancetta or chopped smoked bacon.....optional

Parsley stems chopped...4 or 5

Lots of fresh Thyme ....stems removed

2/3 Bay leaves

Freshly ground black pepper & sea salt to taste.  

Parsley & fresh Thyme to decorate

Method.

Add a little olive oil to a pan and brown the chicken, turning a bit at a time.

Meanwhile, gather together all the veg & herbs and place at the base of a large ovenproof dish or cast iron dish as I did  

Mix around and pour over the stock

Place the chicken on top.

Cover and cook at 200c for around 30 mins........turn down to 150c

Sprinkle the pancetta on top, add the tomatoes, replace the lid and continue cooking for at least an hour and a half .  Just turn it down lower if you're not ready to serve but baste well in between

Remove the chicken.... cover with foil and let it rest before carving for 10 mins or so

Squeeze out the flesh from the garlic into the remaining juices

Make sure the veg is tender.....if necessary thicken the sauce with a little slaked cornflour

Carve the chicken....place the veg onto the warmed plates and spoon over the sauce