SHOINA COOKS 

Method
 

1. Preheat your oven to gas mark 8 / 230c / 210 Fan. You will want a nice hot oven. For the chicken you will need a large roasting pan. Ideally with a rack as well for the chicken to rest on.
    

2. Start by making the tarragon butter. In a small bowl mix together the fresh chopped / dried tarragon and ground pepper into the soft butter. The tarragon butter will provide a light liquorice flavour and keep your chicken moist.
    

3. Now to prepare the chicken. We are going to start by working on the crown of the chicken where you have the chicken breasts. You are going to creating "pockets" under the chicken skin which we will add the butter.  By using the back of a tablespoon, gently pull up the skin on the chicken crown and push the spoon underneath to separate the skin from the chicken.
    

4. Once you have created the "pockets", put the tarragon butter into the pockets and press down and smooth out the butter under the skin. You want to get as much of the butter as possible to cover the chicken breasts.
    

5. Then with the extra butter, spread on top of the chicken and over the legs. Best to use your hands to ensure you can massage into the skin. 
    

6. Now to place the lemon and garlic inside the chicken cavity and put the chicken to one side as we prepare the roasting tray for the gravy.
    

7. This method will incorporate the cooked chicken juices to make the gravy to be served with the chicken. Firstly put the olive oil into your roasting tray. Then slice your fennel bulb in to approx. 5mm thick slices and place into the tray.
    

8. In a mixing jug, make your chicken stock from the stock cube and boiling water. You can of course use the same quantity of fresh chicken stock as well. Mix until the cube has fully mixed with the water. Now pour into the oven tray over the fennel. 
    

9. Add the white wine to the tray as well. Now stir the ingredients in the tray so that they are mixed well together. 
    

10. Now place the chicken on the rack over your oven tray and place into the oven for up to 90 minutes. 
     

11. Check that your chicken regularly. Use a serving fork to put inside the chicken cavity to tip out the chicken juices into the oven tray. When you check that the juice from the chicken, look to see that it's not pink or red as it would indicate it cooked sufficiently. Make sure to check the chicken legs as well. 
     

12. Turn off the oven and transfer the chicken onto a serving plate and cover with foil and allow to rest for 20-30 minutes. This will add to the flavour as it will help retain the juices in the chicken.
     

13. Now to make the gravy. Take out the cooked sliced fennel from the oven tray. You can serve this as a side vegetable along with the chicken. Or use towards making a lovely soup.
     

14. Now carefully pour the liquid contents of the oven tray into a large saucepan and slowly heat up. Spoon in the flour individually and whisk into the sauce which should gradually thicken. If consistency is too thin for your liking, add another tablespoon gradually.
     

15. Finally, taste and season accordingly. 

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You can serve your chicken with your preferred choice of vegetables, including roast potatoes, Brussel sprouts, carrots and more. I hope you enjoy!

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TIP: Keep the chicken bones for making a great home made chicken stock for other dishes. 

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