Recipe: Elizabeth Hewson Says Slather Your Roast Chook in Anchovy Cream

Elizabeth Hewson loves roasting a butterflied chook, “not just for the faster cooking time,” she writes in Home Food, “but because it acts like a blanket, letting everything underneath soak up its juices.”

In this spectacular “one and done” recipe from the Sydney author’s third cookbook, the recipient of said juices is a bed of creamy butter beans, which absorb all those precious savoury drippings before they’re tossed with radicchio, or rocket, or both. 

While the anchovy cream absolutely takes the dish “to another level”, Hewson says it’s fine to skip this step on those nights when you just need to get on with it. After all, the classics never go out of style. “Just rub the whole chook with olive oil and lemon zest and throw in two smashed garlic cloves instead”. 

Job done. 

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Elizabeth Hewson’s roasted chook slathered in anchovy cream 

Serves 4
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 50 minutes

Ingredients

1 whole chook, butterflied, spine removed
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to season
2 x 400g cans butter beans, drained and rinsed
1 red onion, cut into 0.5cm slices
2 sprigs of rosemary
1 red chilli, deseeded and finely sliced
½ lemon, cut into wedges
½ cup (125ml) white wine or chicken stock
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
Handful of radicchio or rocket leaves, chopped, to finish

Anchovy cream

5 anchovies
2 garlic cloves
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
Juice of ½ lemon (about 50ml)
40ml olive oil

Method

Preheat the oven to 200°C. Remove the chicken from the fridge 30 minutes before you want to cook it. Season it front and back, generously, with salt and pepper.

To make the anchovy cream, combine all the ingredients in a small food processor or blender. Blitz for a minute or so, until the mixture is creamy and thick. Taste, then season with salt and plenty of pepper.

Put the beans, onion, rosemary, chilli, lemon wedges and wine or stock into a large baking tray. Drizzle with the olive oil and then season. Give everything a good toss, then lay the chicken over the top. Rub the anchovy cream all over the chicken, ensuring you get it into all its nooks and crannies.

Bake for 45–50 minutes until golden and cooked through. Spin your tray around halfway through to avoid getting hot spots on the chook. To test the chicken, pierce the thigh with a skewer – the liquid should run clear. Remove from the oven and carefully transfer the chicken to a plate.

To finish the beans, give them a toss to help emulsify the juices, then toss through some radicchio or rocket. The juices will act as a dressing. Pour the bean mixture into a dish then put the chicken on top. Serve in the middle of the table.

This is an edited extract from Home Food by Elizabeth Hewson. Published by Murdoch Books (RRP $45).