A warm loaf flecked with courgettes, toasted seeds, green chilli and mature cheddar pairs well with pickled chilli butter. A whole chicken (about 2kg) is stuffed with long-grain rice braised in butter and olive oil with onion, ginger, garlic, sun-dried tomato paste, chipotle en adobo and ground allspice. Cherry tomatoes, chicken stock and white wine finish the rice as their sticky juices caramelise around the grains and pan edges, producing intense umami. Rice is soaked briefly and the chicken comes to room temperature before roasting. A compound butter of garlic, allspice, oregano, chipotle and butter seasons the bird. Prep 15 minutes; cook about 1 hour 30 minutes.
Little beats a loaf of fresh bread still warm from the oven. Today's one is flecked with courgettes (zucchini), toasted seeds, a pleasing hint of green chilli and plenty of cheddar the more mature, the better. It is delicious in the extreme, and even more so when spread with pickled chilli butter. But first a year-round roast chicken, inspired by the red rices of Mexico, that fills the day with a happy glow.
If ever there was a dish to sing for its supper Roast chicken stuffed with tomato rice and smoky oregano butter (pictured top) I am endlessly in awe of the amount of umami unleashed by a simple braise of tomatoes, garlic and onion. Here, their sticky, sweet juices caramelise around the grains of rice and edges of the pan, producing a swashbuckling flavour-bomb that looks resplendent when it comes to the table.
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