Pot Roasted Cider Chicken

Any recipe that includes the line 'put the cooked bacon inside the chicken' is ok with me.
This recipe is taken from the September 2008 edition of 'Delicious' magazine, a particularly good food magazine from Australia. It is possibly the best roast chicken dish I have ever tasted.
We made some minor changes to the original recipe so I'll give you the recipe as is and note the changes. This will serve four.


This is what it should look like before it goes in the oven


Pot Roasted Cider Chicken
1.8kg free range chicken (it doesn't really matter how big it is as long as it's a decent free range corn fed bird)
1 1/3 cup of dry cider (we used Scrumpy)
2 large onions, sliced (we used one very large onion and replaced one onion with a large leak)
4 sprigs of fresh thyme
150ml cream
4 baby cos lettuces, leaves seperated
4 rashers of streaky bacon (this is not in the original recipe)

Preheat the oven to 200C and heat up a large casserole or very large saucepan on an oven element. Add a tablespoon of oil to the casserole and cook the bacon. Remove the bacon and put the chicken in the pot searing it on all sides in the oil and bacon fat. Put the cooked bacon inside the chicken.
Pour over the cider and add the onion, the sliced leak and the thyme. Season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper, cover and roast in the oven for 45 minutes.
Take the lid off the chicken and cook for a further 45 mniutes until golden on top and the juices run clear when you prick the thickest part of the thigh with a skewer. Transfer the chicken to a plate and remove the bacon. Let the chicken rest, loosely covered with foil, for five minutes while you finish the sauce. Chop the bacon.
Place the casserole on an oven element on low heat, add the cream and stir for 3-4 minutes until heated through. Add bacon (again, there is no bacon in the original recipe) and lettuce, cover and cook gently for a further 3-4 minutes until the lettuce is tender. Taste and season if necessary.



Stewart's Salty Sauteed Spuds
Taken from 'beach bach boat barbecue' a fantastic summer cook book that we use all the time. Recipes by Penny Oliver. We love this book so much we have given it to friends all around the world.

1.5kg floury potatoes, unpeeled
Olive oil for roasting
Salt

Thoroughly wash the potatoes. Cut them in half lengthways and place, cut side down, on absorbent kithcen paper to thoroughly dry. Slash the cut surface of the potatoes in a criss cross pattern. Select a roasting pan just big enough to hold the potatoes and pour in enough oil to generously cover the bottom. Salt the cut surface of the potatoes and place them , cut-side down, in the oilve oil. Roast the potatoes in an oven preheated to 210C for 1 1/4 hours or until they are tender and crisp, and easily lift from the pan. Do not distub the potatoes while cooking.