Garlic Roast Chicken Recipe.

We love garlic, oh yes we do. We eat garlic most nights of the week, the more garlic, the better. I gave the kids cloves of garlic to gnaw on instead of teething rusks, no, not really, but they have adapted to our garlic laden dishes with a culinary gusto and enthusiasm which makes me proud.

Today I would like to share with you a superb garlic roast chicken with pancetta & rosemary potatoes recipe. It is by Silvana Franco and I discovered it in the September 2008 edition of the ABC Delicious magazine. We all love it and I'm sure you will too.

Serves 4

1 kg potatoes (such as pontiac), peeled & cut into 1cm slices

1 garlic bulb, separated into cloves

2 rosemary sprigs, leaves picked, plus extra sprigs, halved

Grated zest of 1 lemon, fruit quartered

35g unsalted butter

1.8 kg free-range chicken (I usually use a 1.6kg chicken & cut the cooking time to 1hr, 15min)

150g thickly sliced pancetta, cut into thin strips

1 1/4 cup (310ml) dry white wine

Preheat oven to 200 degrees C. Put potatoes into a saucepan of cold salted water and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 5 mins or until just tender. Drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, place garlic, rosemary leaves and lemon zest in a food processor. Add 1/2 tsp of sea salt and process to a paste. Add butter and plenty of blk pepper & process until well combined.

Rinse the chicken and pat dry with paper towel. Starting from the neck end, carefully work your fingers underneath the skin to loosen it, working your way down to the thigh area, being careful not to tear the skin. Spread garlic paste between the flesh and the skin, smoothing it down and around the bird as far as you can - make sure you get plenty on the breast as this is the driest part. Tuck the lemon quarters into the cavity. Tie the legs together with kitchen string, then tuck the wings under.

Layer potatoes, pancetta and rosemary springs in a roasting pan. Sit the chicken on the top, breast-side up, and pour over the wine. Season and roast for 1 1/2 hours, basting occasionally, until chicken and potatoes are golden and the juices run clear when you prick the thickest part of the chicken thigh. Rest chicken, covered loosely with foil, for 5 mins, then serve with potatoes.

Not the healthiest recipe I have, but oh, so very delicious.