One pan spatchcock chicken with schmaltzy vegetables and fregula, ricotta and basil

A one pan number to brighten your day

As many of you will probably know, I’ve been a chef for a long time now so it stands to reason that I love to cook, which I do. But that doesn’t mean that I get to the end of a long day and I relish the idea of standing in the kitchen cooking. On days where I just can’t muster up the energy, a delicious and simple one pan recipe is just the perfect solution.

And I strongly believe that there are very few things more comforting than a roast chicken. Any time of year, on any occasion, whatever the question, roast chicken is so often the answer. But they take a little while to cook so aren’t the natural go-to for a weeknight which is why I’m going to suggest you spatchcock your chicken. If the sound of that fills you with fear, do not panic. It’s really simple - you only need a pair of scissors. I’ve even filmed a video to show you what to do - it’s pretty dorky and my eyes are suffering from hay fever but if you can get past that it could be helpful! And I promise I’m not good at stuff like this, a butcher I am not. So if I can do it you can do it. I promise.

For this dish, the vegetables and fregula are tumbled into the roasting tray and the chicken sits atop them. This means that as the chicken roasts, all of those delicious roasting juices soak into the vegetables and pasta and the result is so incredibly good. This is also incidentally a most delicious way to cook potatoes. Is there anything that can’t be improved by chicken fat? I doubt it.

You can play around with the vegetables you use, there are so many different flavour combinations. And I’m going to tell you what you can do if you can’t even face getting out a knife. I know there are times when even chopping seems too much faff, so don’t worry, I’ve got you covered. And of course if you don’t feel like spatchcocking a chicken, you don’t have to. I won’t make you. You can either just roast a chicken normally which will be very good, it will just take a bit longer or you can use chicken thighs which will also work really well.

In terms of quantities - we are using a whole chicken which could comfortably feed 4 (depending on the size and hungriness) but I’m going to give you the recipe for the vegetables and fregula for 2 people. All you really need to know is that you need about 80g fregula per person and you can adjust everything else accordingly. Of course a whole chicken is a lot for two people but I am never going to apologise to you for giving you leftover roast chicken. Left over roast chicken has to be one of life’s greatest pleasures. I am a “cook once, eat twice kind of a person and I nearly always cook too much of whatever I’m cooking and then use it up the next day. It’s a very satisfying way of cooking and eating. I love having extras of the vegetable / fregula situation here so I often make enough for 4 people even if I’m just cooking for me and my husband. For this, it’s delicious as it is, just warmed through and eaten for a second time. Or I like to have it at room temperature, add an indecent amount of herbs, parsley, mint and basil and then some chopped pistachios. Toss through some crumbled feta and oh my goodness it’s so good. A smattering of pomegranate seeds? Yes. Or take it up a level and serve it with the cold roast chicken and a dollop of romesco sauce. Heaven.

If you have left over roast chicken there are a multitude of ways you can use these up. So why wouldn’t you cook a whole roast chicken and then treat yourself with the leftovers? Below are some of my favourite ways to use with roast chicken.

Cold roast chicken sandwiches are some of the best in the world. Plenty of mayo. A little pesto, sliced tomatoes, hot crispy bacon. Little gem. A few crisps? Heaven.

Serve cold with a crunchy green salad with a good vinaigrette, and hot buttery new potatoes.

Shred the chicken and toss through egg fried rice. Dress with a splash of soy, a little chilli oil, plenty of sesame seeds, spring onions. Very easy and so good.

Mix with a little mayo (yogurt if you please), spring onions and crispy pancetta and have it on top of a baked sweet potato with a little dressed rocket and some cherry tomatoes.

Make a delicious salad with avocado, cherry tomatoes, strips of cold roast chicken, torn little gem lettuce and a green goddess dressing.

Peaches are in season, so pan fry some in a little brown butter and then arrange on a plate with some rocket, parma ham, burrata and cold roast chicken. Drizzle in a pesto or balsamic dressing. So good.

But back to today’s recipe. She’s seriously easy, gorgeously delicious and a little bit fancy feeling. You know by now I am ALL about the finishing touches. Sure it’s all good as it is. But I promise it’s always the finishing touches that ramp it up to the next level. So here’s the deal: A dollop of the ricotta at the end, a generous sprinkling of parmesan, some torn basil and a scattering of lemon zest. And a generous crack of pepper from the pepper mill. All sound small and unimportant but the combination of these work so well and it just makes the dish sing so please don’t skip these.

Here’s the video of how to spatchcock a chicken before we get into today’s recipe. Let me know if this kind of thing is remotely helpful and I can always do more (or less if that’s the way the vote goes!) of it.

Serves 2 (with left over chicken)