Christmas Lunch with Chicken

A stripped down Christmas lunch for 2020. Brussels sprouts cooked for about seven or eight minutes in a steamer, roast potatoes, pork sausages wrapped in bacon (pigs in blankets), boiled carrots and parsnips, a whole chicken breast roasted for thirty minutes in a lidded casserole dish, then for another fifteen minutes without the lid (judge by eye). The pork and bacon sausages could have been cooked along with the pork, but I did them separately since the sausages cook in half the time the chicken takes. Doing them separately means you don't have to stand around the hob the whole time, watching progress. 

A gravy was made  with the stock from the boiled carrots and parsnip, with chicken stock and some cornflour, plus a pinch of sage. The chicken breast was dressed in a pinch of coriander leaf. 

What did I skip this year? Chestnut stuffing, and cranberry sauce. I used no onions at all (those would have been a component in the pork and chestnut stuffing). 

As I've said before, the trick is to have all the ingredients ready at the same time. The entire dish was prepared by lunchtime on Christmas Eve, put into the fridge overnight, and reheated in a casserole dish the next day. 

I've discussed the making of good roast potatoes here. 

Roast Chicken in Gravy

Not everything needs to be complicated. A simple dish of roast chicken slices, boiled potato and carrot, served with a delicious chicken gravy.

Three skinned chicken breasts were roasted in a casserole dish in the oven, on a bed of sliced carrot and parsnips. The chicken was drizzled with sunflower oil, and seasoned with sea salt. A little water was added (about 100 mls), and the casserole dish spent 45 minutes in the lidded casserole, and another 15 minutes with the lid removed (allowing the chicken breasts to become golden brown on the surface). Cooked at 190 deg C on the middle shelf.

The chicken was removed from the casserole dish, and then the vegetables were removed with a slatted spoon - the latter to become the basis of a chicken and parsnip soup.

Once cooled, the chicken breasts were sliced with an electric carving  knife before serving.

The gravy was made with the juices from the roast, which were decanted to a small pan  containing 200 mls of boiling water: some chicken and vegetable stock was added, along with a teaspoonful of onion gravy granules, a pinch of paprika, plus some sage and black pepper. Serve with a generous portion of the gravy!