Ingredients
The Chook
- 4 teaspoons tarragon butter, plus extra
- fronds (leaves) of a fennel bulb, and/or the tarragon stalks
- 1 free range or organic chicken, (size 16 i.e. 1.6 kg)
- pinch sea salt
- pinch ground white pepper, or nutmeg or paprika
- 700 grams water, or half white wine
Tarragon Butter
- 250 grams unsalted butter, or 1 batch butter from the EDC
- 4 stalks fresh tarragon, leaves only, or your favourite herb like oregano
- 1 pinch sea salt, use course or flakes, not rock
The Sides
- 1 Large Sweet Potato, or 2 large potatoes
- 1 Bulb Fennel, or an apple or onion
- 1 bunch asparagus, or greens of choice
The Gravy!
- 200 g stock from steaming
- 1/2 brown onion
- 2 tbsp extra stock from steaming
- 1 tbsp Corn Flour, or Paleo use Chestnut Flour
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp Blackstrap Molasses, for colour and sweetness
- 1/2-1 tsp EDC vegetable stock concentrate, to taste
Accessories you need
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Varoma -
Spatula TM5/TM6
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I'm cooking this todayRecipe's preparation
In the mixing bowl chop the tarragon for 4 secs./speed 5.
Add the rest of the ingredients and mix 6-8 secs./speed 3.
Scrape into a small jar to keep for up to 2 weeks in the fridge.
A big chicken wont fit, so max of 1.6 kilos.
I wash my chook in cold water, season and leave covered for 1-2 hours to come to room temperature before cooking – depending on the heat of the day.
From the base of the chook put your fingers under the skin and loosen so you can smear 1 teaspoon of tarragon butter onto each thigh and breast under the skin. Season with sea salt and white pepper and stuff the fennel fronds inside.
Put your chook onto the Varoma base breast side down. Place the base on top of the upturned lid, to rest for as long as you feel comfortable – or at least while you get everything else ready.
Dice your sweet potato and slice up your fennel. Then arrange the sweet potato and fennel around and a little under your chicken – this helps the steam to get around it.
Weigh the water into the mixing bowl, place the lid on and Varoma with your chook on top. Careful with the Varoma lid, it will have a little raw chicken juice in it, tip in or rinse.
Set to cook for 25 mins./Varmoa/speed 3.
Meanwhile preheat your oven to around 220'C.
After the 25 minutes take out the vegetables and toss into a baking dish with a little extra tarragon butter, if you like. Put them in the oven to roast and turn over your chook so it is breast side up in the Varoma.
Set the chook to cook for 15 mins./Varoma/speed 3.
When the 15 minutes are up transfer your chook to a roasting pan and roast for 20 minutes or until cooked through and golden.
Trim the asparagus and place into the Varoma tray.
When the chook comes of the oven, carefully tip the liquid inside the cavity into the mixing bowl with the steaming liquid.
Let the chook rest for 10 minutes while the vege roasts some more and you make the gravy.
Pour the steaming liquid (now gorgeous chicken stock) in the mixing bowl into a jug and leave to settle while you wash and dry the bowl.
Chop the onion for 4 secs./speed 5 and add some of the fat/butter that floats to the top of the stock.
Sauté the onion for 3 mins./Varoma/speed 3 with the Varoma on top with the asparagus.
Add 200 grams of the stock to the mixing bowl and cook for 5 mins./Varoma/speed 3.
Mix the cornflour with 2 tablespoons of reserved stock and add to the mixing bowl.
Cook for 2 mins./Varoma/speed 3 with the asparagus back on top.
Taste and add the rest of the ingredients to taste. Stir for 4-6 secs./speed 3.
Add the juice that gathers on the platter with the resting chook to the gravy or to the left over stock.
The gravy may look thin, but by the time everything is served it will thicken up.
Take the roasting vege out of the oven.
Toss the steamed asparagus with a little extra of the tarragon butter (optional but highly recommended).
Pour your gravy into a gravy boat.
Serve your lovely golden, moist and succulently flavourful roast chook with the golden vege, buttery herbed asparagus and luscious gravy.
This recipe is of course Paleo by nature. The only thing is if you eat butter, if not use coconut oil.
And as mentioned use Chestnut Flour for the Gravy. I would recommend that anyway, as it gives a gorgeous nutty flavour to your gravy and everyone will be asking your secret.
The only reason I recommend corn flour is that not everyone keeps chestnut flour and I don’t want to suggest you should get it just for gravy, get it for EVERYTHING! Its great in baking and as a thickener for soups, stews, custard and gravy (basically what you would use corn flour for anyway).
Happy cooking, and eating!
Tarragon Butter
The Chook & Sides
The Gravy
To Serve
Paleo
Tip
Adding more vegetables you could easily stretch this out to serve 6. We get 2 adult and one toddler dinner serves plus 4 lunches of sandwiches or salad - both of which you can add the left over sweet potato, fennel and asparagus.
You should have some chicken stock left over to use for soups or to have as a light starter. Or you could just double the gravy recipe and make up the extra liquid needed with white wine, if you like your chicken swimming. But, I find this roast so moist that it doesn’t need much gravy and I am a gravy fiend.
For a lower fat option, don’t use the tarragon butter for the chicken, vege or asparagus. But, lovely Aussie grass fed butter is full of omegas and vitamin D so I even have it spread on left over chicken sandwiches the next day.
Thermomix Model
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Recipe is created forTM 31
This recipe was provided to you by a Thermomix ® customer and has not been tested by Vorwerk Thermomix ® or The Mix Australia Pty Ltd and The Mix New Zealand Ltd.
Vorwerk Thermomix ® and The Mix Australia Pty Ltd and The Mix New Zealand Ltd assume no liability, particularly in terms of ingredient quantities used and success of the recipes.
Please observe the safety instructions in the Thermomix ® instruction manual at all times.
Comments
This Recipe tastes great. Recipe Method just needs a little simplifying, but can be followed to cook a very delicious meal for the family.
Can't Believe How Good it is Roasting Chook in Varoma
This recipe tasted amazing. One of the best roast chooks we've ever had.
Gravy is amazing. We used fresh herbs and the flavour was outstanding. A staple!
I've made this chook countless times now and it always turns out brilliantly. Family fave for sure! Best gravy we've ever had
I've made this chook countless times now and it always turns out brilliantly. Family fave for sure! Best gravy we've ever had
Brilliant recipe. Omited the tarragon butter altogether but followed all other directions.
Put a cut lemon in the cavity.
Cooked the sweet potato and the chicken in the same pan lined with baking paper to make the clean up easier. The caramelised sweet potato in the chicken fat was to rave about.
And yes, the chicken was so moist that I will always cook the chicken this way. And vegetables all ready at the end.
Many, many thanks for a fantastic recipe.
GrandmaB
Lovely meal, I simplified it a bit, but it turned out beautifully!The recipe is a little hard to follow, although it is great to have so much information.
This is the most delicious chicken I've ever made. The gravy is amazing also. Directions are a little finicky the first time, but will be no problem next time.
This will be my preferred chook roasting method from now on.
Thank you for posting!!
This was delicious! I'll never go back to the usual roast chook. We didn't end up using the gravy as the chicken was perfect by itself. I also steamed brocolli, beans and carrots above the gravy then threw them in the oven for 5 mins at the end. Thanks for this wonderful recipe!!
Twice I have had this for sunday night dinners and it is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO good! i love how I can have dinner sunday night and then rip up the rest of the chicken for lunches the following week ... mmmmm I have to get that black molassas stuff because my gravy is yellow... hehe I want it to be brown i just use a little honey
Thank you for this delicious recipe! Tonight was the first time that I had attempted a roast chicken & it turned out great! I didn't have any molasses but put in a little sugar instead, the colour was light but still tasted nice & did thicken up upon standing. Will definitely be making this again!
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