Herby cheese roast chicken & baked tomatoes

Herby cheese roast chicken & baked tomatoes

We've turned a classic roast into a summery al fresco meal - we can guarantee it's a winning recipe, unfortunately we can't guarantee the weather!

Difficulty and servings

Easy

Serves 4

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 10 mins

Cook time

Cook 1 hr 40 mins

Method

  1. Heat oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. Carefully loosen the skin of the chicken as above, then push the cheese under the skin and massage it down so it completely covers the breasts and is pushed down to the legs.
  2. Sit the chicken in a roasting tin, drizzle with the olive oil, then roast, undisturbed, for 1 hr 20 mins. When the chicken is done, remove from the tin and leave to rest for 20 mins. While the chicken is resting, toss the tomatoes in the roasting tin with the chicken juices, then cook until the chicken is ready to serve. Serve the chicken in pieces with a few baked tomatoes, some of the pan juices, and a green salad.
Try

Other rules

Always leave your chicken to rest for at least 15 mins before carving. This will give you a juicy chicken that is a lot easier to carve. For a more succulent chicken, take it out of the fridge one hour before cooking to bring it up to room temperature. This rule applies to any meat you are roasting. Don't worry about turning or basting your chicken as it roasts. Yes, these can give good results, but are fiddly for the beginner, plus every time you open the oven you lose heat.

The golden rule to roast chicken...

A 1.5kg chicken will be perfectly roasted after 1 hr 20 mins at 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. It doesn't matter what you stuff into it, rub or sprinkle over it or put around it, this timing never changes. Remember this and you will always be able to roast a chicken.

Per serving

689 kcalories, protein 50g, carbohydrate 5g, fat 52 g, saturated fat 20g, fibre 1g, sugar 5g, salt 0.85 g

Recipe from Good Food magazine, May 2008.

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Latest comments and suggestions

  • Binder photo flapjacks

    30 April 2008

    flapjacks commented on this recipe

    Nice idea, & although the details about Barney in part 2 of the instructions are informative, perhaps they could be moved elsewhere / deleted!?!?!?! "... Before Barney joined Good Food seven years ago, he trained as a chef and gained a vast knowledge of ingredients, techniques and cuisines while working in restaurants in France, London and Sydney. Every month he creates a range of recipes for Good Food - from quick, clever midweek suppers to restaurant-style dishes - as well as working with many of Britain's top chefs for the magazine, including Gordon Ramsay and James Martin."

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  • Binder photo Estelle Kisby

    18 May 2008

    Estelle Kisby commented on this recipe

    The recipe is fine but you may need to take a look at the method. I think there has been a mix up with the instructions for the chicken and an interview with someone.

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  • Binder photo Frantic Flapjack

    24 May 2008

    Frantic Flapjack rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    This was really easy and moist and tasty. Cooked perfectly in the given cooking time. The tomatoes tasted gorgeous too.

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  • Binder photo Beth

    27 May 2008

    Beth rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Really nice - the cheese stopped the meat drying out - so that it was really nice moist chicken. I served it with a green salad and some linguine tossed in olive oil and garlic.

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  • Binder photo rozmorgan

    27 July 2008

    rozmorgan rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Made this as inpromptued tea and it was just delicious!

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  • Binder photo SUGARPUFF

    26 October 2008

    SUGARPUFF commented on this recipe

    really tasty and easy but cheese oozed out?i rubbed on skin at end of cooking and added whole mushrooms and asparagus to tray with tomatoes,served with baby potatoes

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  • Binder photo beautifuljulie

    22 January 2010

    beautifuljulie rated this recipe

    5 stars

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  • Binder photo LadyBugg

    11 March 2010

    LadyBugg rated this recipe

    4 stars

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  • Binder photo Annie

    26 April 2010

    Annie rated and commented on this recipe

    2 stars

    OK - nothing special

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  • Binder photo Jmax

    09 August 2010

    Jmax rated this recipe

    3 stars

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  • Binder photo Mo B

    19 August 2010

    Mo B rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Invited the neighbours in and cooked this using 2 chickens - this has to be the best chicken ever. Moist, succulent, cheesy flavour. Cooked them for exact time given plus resting time and the meat was cooked to perfection. (Bit anxious about the time as I usually cook chicken for longer) French roule was on offer at Sainsbury's, 2 for the price of 1 so used that. Along with the tomaotes and corgettes from the garden I used chestnut mushrooms and also I podded all the tired beans from the garden - French/runner/skinned broad beans - and oven baked the selection of beans in the pan juices....served it all up with some olive bread and a green salad. All that was left were two chicken carcasses....guests used the bread to scrape every plate and dish.

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  • Binder photo ana

    03 September 2010

    ana rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    I slightly changed the recipe because my mum conveniently forgot to buy the soft cheese while out buying the chicken. So, I used about a handful of grated "asadero" cheese (it's a kinda fo cheese we get in mexico, with very little fat so it doesn't melt and becomes all greasy, its taste it's mild, it's a little bit hard and with a soft beige colour), a little bit of grated parmesan and some herbs. It came out (suprisingly) good, the baked tomatoes add a fresh element to the chicken, and the keep all the juices.

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  • Binder photo Jodie Rees

    11 June 2012

    Jodie Rees rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    So easy and very tasty!

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  • Binder photo cup cake

    08 April 2013

    cup cake rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    we all enjoyed this very much, parents and a 4 yr old child were very pleased with the taste n simplicicty of the dish, will be making again! though we had a root veg rosted, a side salad would work well too :)

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Difficulty and servings

Easy

Serves 4

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 10 mins

Cook time

Cook 1 hr 40 mins

Just four ingredients

Ingredients

  • 1 free-range chicken
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 500g small vine tomatoes
  • 150g pack garlic & herb soft cheese
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Per serving

689 kcalories, protein 50g, carbohydrate 5g, fat 52 g, saturated fat 20g, fibre 1g, sugar 5g, salt 0.85 g

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