Roast Chicken with Roasted Winter Vegetables and Olive Oil Mash

Comfort food is top of the list when it comes to warding off the winter weather. Choose soups without added cream, avoid pre-frying stew ingredients and select hot, fruit-based desserts topped with low fat custard. 

Olive oil isn’t just for salads, try using it to roast tasty winter vegetables and serve your seasonal dish with olive oil mash. Love lentils and experiment with different varieties - brown, green, black, yellow and red, as all can be used in soups, casseroles, pasta and rice dishes, plus roasts and savoury bakes. Drink milky malted drinks, hot chocolate and cocoa made with skimmed milk. 

Ingredients: 

1 Whole 1.5kg Chicken  

Vegetables: 

4 (320g) medium carrots, thickly sliced 

1 (250g) large parsnip, peeled and sliced into batons 

½ (300g) butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and cut into largish chunks 

1 (240g) large onion, peeled and sliced into sections 

4 (12g) cloves garlic, peeled and crushed 

2 tablespoons (22ml) olive oil 

Rosemary sprigs 

Mash

4 medium (600g) old potatoes, peeled and cut into pieces 

6 tablespoons (90ml) skimmed milk 

1 tablespoon (11ml) olive oil 

Fresh parsley sprigs 

Method: 

Chicken 

Roast the chicken (a 1.5kg chicken will be perfectly roasted after 1hr 20mins at 190 deg C/gas 5) and about one hour before the end of cooking, pop the prepared winter vegetables into the oven. Whilst the chicken and vegetables are roasting, make the mash. Serve all together with a little gravy made with the potato water and gravy mix if desired. 

Vegetables 

1. Preheat the oven to 190degC/gas mark 5 
2. Prepare the vegetables. Ensure they are all cut to a similar size to ensure even cooking 
3. Place the prepared vegetables and crushed garlic into a roasting pan, drizzle with olive oil, stir and top with the sprigs of rosemary 
4. Place in a preheated oven and roast for 45minutes or until the vegetables are lightly browned but not too soft
5. Leave to rest for about 5 minutes
6. Remove the rosemary sprigs before serving

Mash

1. Boil the potatoes in a minimum of boilingwater until soft
2. Drain (retain the cooking water) and mash well
3. Add the milk and olive oil and mash again untilcreamy and fluffy
4. Serve garnished with fresh parsley sprigs