Roasted chicken with vegetable gravy

Ingredients

1 chicken, about 1200 g

Salt and pepper

½ lemon, halved

Aniseed

1 onion, cut into chunks

1 large carrot, cut into chunks

1-2 sticks celery, roughly chopped

½ head fennel, roughly chopped

½ head of garlic, roughly chopped (no need to remove the envelope)

50ml olive oil, plus more for drizzling

800g young potatoes, washed, cut into chunks

1½ tbs Dijon mustard

250ml red wine

250ml chicken stock

Preparation

Rub the chicken cavities with salt and pepper and stuff the lemon quarters inside.

Put the vegetables, olive oil and garlic in a heavy roasting tin. Lay the chicken, breast-side down, on top of the vegetables. Season the chicken from the outside with salt and pepper, scatter over some more aniseed, then drizzle with a little olive oil.

Roast the chicken in an oven for 20 minutes at 180°C.

Meanwhile, mix 1 tbs mustard with the remaining aniseed.

Remove the roasting tin from the oven, take the chicken out and smear with the mustard mixture. Add the potatoes to the pan, mix with the vegetables.

Return the chicken to the oven and roast for a further 40 minutes or until done.

Remove the chicken to a warm dish and cover.

Transfer vegetables from the pan to the skillet, pour in the wine, and boil for 8-10 minutes until the wine has almost completely reduced.

Pour in the stock and bring to the boil, then simmer for 5-7 minutes until reduced by half. Stir in the remaining mustard, season to taste and strain into a gravy boat.

Cut the chicken cut into smaller pieces; serve with sauce, new potatoes and green salad.