Roast chicken with sage and onion, bread sauce and spring vegetables

Ingredients

For the chicken
2 small free-range chickens, with gizzards
sea salt
½ bunch fresh thyme
½ bunch fresh rosemary
1 head garlic, split in half horizontally
2kg/4lb 6½oz duck fat
1-2 tbsp olive oil
knob butter
squeeze lemon juice
For the sage and onion
1 tbsp olive oil
2 onions, peeled, finely chopped
12 fresh sage leaves, finely chopped
For the bread sauce
300ml/10½fl oz milk
½ onion, peeled, roughly chopped
1 clove
8 slices bread, crusts removed, pulsed into breadcrumbs in a food processor
For the vegetables
12 baby carrots, peeled, green tops left on
12 baby leeks, trimmed
3 baby courgettes, thickly sliced
12 baby turnips
12 radishes
1 tsp butter
squeeze lemon juice
For the chicken gravy
4 chicken wing bones (from above), meat removed, chopped into three pieces each
chicken neck (from above), chopped
gizzards (from above)
4 cloves garlic, peeled, halved
olive oil
250ml/9fl oz white wine
750ml/1 pint 7fl oz brown chicken stock

Method

1. For the chicken, place the chickens into a deep container and sprinkle all over with sea salt. Cover and chill in the fridge overnight.
2. Preheat the oven to 130C/265F/Gas ½.
3. Remove the wings, neck and gizzards from the chickens and reserve for making the gravy. Remove the legs from the chicken and place into a roasting tray, then place the chicken crowns into a separate roasting tray. Divide the herbs and garlic equally between the two trays and cover both the chicken legs and crowns with the duck fat.
4. Cook the chicken legs and crowns in the oven for 40 minutes, or until the crowns are golden-brown and cooked. Remove the crowns from the oven and set aside to cool. Continue cooking the chicken legs for a further 35 minutes, or until the meat is very tender. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the fat.
5. Remove the legs from the fat and divide into thighs and drumsticks. Remove the chicken crowns from the fat and remove the breasts. Reserve the carcass for making the gravy.
6. For the sage and onion, heat the olive oil in a pan and gently fry the onions for 3-4 minutes, or until softened but not coloured. Stir in the sage, then remove the pan from the heat and set aside.
7. For the bread sauce, place the milk, onion and clove into a heavy-based pan and bring to the boil. Reduce to a simmer, then leave to infuse over a low heat for 30 minutes. Stir in the breadcrumbs, then remove the clove and blend with a stick blender until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Remove from the heat and set aside.
8. For the vegetables, cook all of the vegetables in a pan of boiling water for 3-4 minutes, or until cooked but retaining a bit of bite. Drain and set aside.
9. Preheat the oven to 200C/390F/Gas 6.
10. For the chicken gravy, place the chopped chicken wing bones, chicken necks, gizzards and garlic into a shallow roasting tray and drizzle over a little olive oil. Roast in the oven until the bones turn golden-brown, then take the roasting tray from the oven and put on the hob over a high heat. Add the wine to the tray to deglaze, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom with a wooden spoon. Add the stock and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until the liquid has thickened to a gravy consistency.
11. Strain the gravy through a fine sieve, pushing it through with the back of a ladle, then discard the solids. Pass the gravy through a fine sieve again into a large jug, then pour into four small individual gravy boats for serving.
12. For the chicken, heat the olive oil in a large pan and fry the roasted chicken pieces, skin-side down, for 2-3 minutes, or until the skin is golden-brown and crisp. Turn the meat over, add a knob of butter to the pan and squeeze over some lemon juice. Cook for a further minute to warm through, then set aside.
13. To serve, slice the cooked baby turnips in half. Warm all of the vegetables in a pan with a little butter and a squeeze of lemon juice. Divide evenly among four serving plates, arranging in a circle around the edges of the plate.
14. Arrange a chicken thigh, leg and breast each in the centre of the plate and spoon a line of the sage and onion on top of the chicken breast. Serve the bread sauce and gravy on the side in small gravy dishes.