Ingredients
- 1.7kg whole chicken
- 500g natural yogurt
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 lemon
- 2 fresh bay leaves
- Sea salt
Prep: 15 mins + marinating | Cook: 1 hr 30 mins
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Method
1. Unwrap the chicken, remove the giblets (you can use them to make stock) and put the chicken in a roasting tin. Set aside.
2. Pour half the yogurt into a bowl. Add ½ tsp turmeric, then finely grate in the zest of the lemon and squeeze in the juice from half the lemon. Add a good pinch of salt. Mix together. Put the squeezed lemon half and both bay leaves in the chicken cavity. Spread the turmeric yogurt all over the chicken.
3. Cover the whole roasting tin with foil, making sure it doesn’t touch the chicken, and set aside to let the chicken marinate for at least 30 mins at room temperature, or overnight in the fridge. If doing the latter, make sure you bring the chicken back to room temperature before cooking.
4. While the chicken marinates, heat your oven to 180°C/Fan 160°C/Gas 4. Keep the chicken covered and roast for 1 hr.
5. Remove the chicken from the oven. Turn the oven up to 220°C/Fan 200°C/Gas 7. Uncover the chicken. Return it to the oven and roast for a further 30 mins, or till golden brown and the juices run clear when the fattest part of the leg is pierced. Cook for a little longer if the juices aren’t clear.
6. Let the chicken rest for a good 30 mins-1 hr, loosely covered with foil, before carving. Mix the remaining yogurt and ½ tsp turmeric together. Serve the chicken with the turmeric yogurt and the remaining lemon half, sliced into wedges, for squeezing.