Pesto Roast Chicken with Grilled Yellow Pepper Sauce

Name: Pesto Roast Chicken with Grilled Yellow Pepper Sauce
Ingredients: salt; 25 g/1 oz chilled butter; 3-5 pinches cayenne pepper; 1 dessertspoon sherry vinegar; 6-8 fresh basil leaves; 1 medium yellow pepper; 350 ml/12 fl oz chicken stock; 2-2½ tablespoons pesto sauce; knob of butter, at room temperature; 1 large chicken, weighing 2.5 kg/5½ lb

Preparation info

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

Josceline Dimbleby’s Complete Cookbook

By Josceline Dimbleby

Published 1997

About

An ordinary chicken can be transformed really simply by putting pesto beneath the skin before roasting. With its smoky-sweet yellow pepper sauce, I find this an ever-popular dish for serving to family and friends at Sunday lunch. Accompany with new, sautéed or roast potatoes and a green vegetable.

Ingredients

1 large chicken, weighing 2.5 kg/5½ lb
2-2½ tablespoons

Main course
Lunch
Gluten-free

Method

Gently loosen the chicken skin by gradually easing your fingers between it and the flesh. If you are careful you can loosen the skin over the legs as well as the breast. Spoon the pesto sauce under the skin, then press the skin down on top to spread the sauce evenly over the flesh. Leave at cool room temperature for 1 hour before cooking.

To roast, prehe