-
1
Pre-heat oven to gas mark 6/400F/200u00b0C.
-
2
Pick the thyme leaves off and discard the stalks and finely chop the leaves.
-
3
In a bowl, put the knob of butter and add half of the chopped thyme and the grated garlic and give it all a good mix.
-
4
Lift the skin of the chicken with your fingers and push the herbed butter underneath the skin (you need to be very gentle as to not tear the skin).
-
5
Season the chicken well inside and out.
-
6
Slightly warm the honey in another bowl.
-
7
Split the vanilla pod lengthways and scrape the inside with the back of a knife and mix into the warmed honey.
-
8
Add the remaining chopped thyme into the honey mixture.
-
9
Place the chicken into a roasting tray and pour the honey mixture all over the chicken and pour 100ml of chicken stock into the tray.
-
10
For the roast vegetables, peel the swede, parsnips and carrots and cut into equal sized chunks.
-
11
Peel the onion and cut into wedges.
-
12
Pick the rosemary leaves and roughly chop them.
-
13
Toss all the vegetables in a little oil, add in the rosemary and season it well and place them in another roasting tray.
-
14
Cook the chicken in the centre shelf and the vegetables in the bottom shelf.
-
15
The vegetables will take about 30-35 minutes to cook (but the tray needs to be shaken and vegetables turned over every 15 minutes but be careful not to break them).
-
16
The chicken will take about 1 hour to cook, basting it with the juices every 15 minutes as well.
-
17
Meanwhile, to make the mash, peel the potatoes and chop them into large chunks and boil them in seasoned water until soft.
-
18
Mash the potatoes and add the butter and season it well.
-
19
Pass it through a sieve to get rid of any lumps and cover to keep warm.
-
20
Once the chicken is ready, remove from the tray and transfer onto a serving dish. Cover the chicken with foil and let it rest for 20 minutes.
-
21
Using a spoon, skim off the excess fat from the juices in the roasting tin and then add the remaining stock to the tray, scrape and mix with the juices.
-
22
Pour the juices into a saucepan and bring it to boil for about 5 minutes.
-
23
Whip the cream lightly.
-
24
Add 2tbsp of the whipped cream into gravy in the saucepan and when it has warmed through remove from heat.
-
25
Strain the gravy into a serving jug.
-
26
Add the remaining cream to the mashed potatoes and mix in thoroughly. Re-heat if necessary in a pan or in the microwave.
-
27
Transfer the roast vegetables into a serving dish.
-
28
Serve all together and carve at the table.
