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Medium
45mins
4
Gluten Free
Rated 4.3 stars by 6 users
Roasts, Dinner
Italian
4
20 minutes
45 minutes
Cooking the chicken ‘al mattone’ is an ingenious way of cooking it under a brick or, in the modern kitchen, under a second cast iron pan or lid. Here, I’ve served it with a wonderful side dish of peppers and potatoes, although a fresh leafy salad would be great too.
Julia Busuttil Nishimura
1.4kg free-range chicken, butterflied
60ml extra-virgin olive oil
2 tbsp Ostro Italian Meat Rub
4 sprigs of fresh oregano
Juice and finely grated zest of a lemon
3 garlic cloves, finely crushed
60ml extra-virgin olive oil
750g potatoes, peeled and cut into 1cm rounds
4 red capsicums, thinly sliced
3 garlic cloves
3 sprigs of fresh oregano, plus extra leaves to serve
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
Place the chicken in a large non-reactive container or bowl and add all of the ingredients. Rub the marinade into the chicken, ensuring it is well-coated. Cover and refrigerate overnight or for at least four hours.
Bring the chicken out from the fridge and allow it to come to room temperature.
Preheat the oven to 200°C, by heating up the bottom tray and the weight that will sit on the chicken for 30 minutes, or until very hot. The weight can be a heavy cast iron lid, cast iron pan or a brick wrapped in aluminium foil.
Place the chicken, skin side up on the hot tray and flatten with the weight. Cook in the preheated oven for 40-45 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the skin is crispy. Remove the weight, allow to rest, then cut into eight pieces.
Meanwhile, warm the oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the potatoes, capsicum, garlic, oregano and a pinch of salt and cook for 30-35 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender and the capsicums have softened. Stir often to avoid the vegetables burning. Add the red wine vinegar and stir through extra oregano. Serve alongside the roast chicken.
What a delicious dish to make. So flavoursome I couldn’t get a butterflied chicken so used thigh instead and turned out lovely. Adding this to our rotation.
Delicious recipe- especially with your spice rub – however chicken should never be allowed to reach room temperature before cooking- straight from the fridge is fine and safe
Cheers!
We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of this land, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and future. Food has always connected humans to this land and each other; we strive to honour and strengthen those connections.
We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of this land, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and future. Food has always connected humans to this land and each other; we strive to honour and strengthen those connections.
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