Herby lemon chicken with Tuscan beans

Herby lemon chicken with Tuscan beans

Try this summer alternative to a traditional Sunday roast, best enjoyed al fresco

Difficulty and servings

Moderately easy

Serves 4 - 6

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 50 mins

Cook time

Cook 1 hr 10 mins

Method

  1. First, spatchcock the chicken (see our step-by-step video here). Sit the chicken on a board, breast-side down with the wing-end away from you. Use a strong pair of kitchen scissors to cut along either side of the backbone to remove it, cutting through the ribs as you go. Open out the chicken like a book, flip so it is now breast- side up, then press down on the breasts with the heel of your hand to flatten slightly - you are trying to get an even thickness across the whole joint. If you have any long skewers, diagonally criss-cross two, skewering through the legs and breast to hold in position. Sit the chicken in a dish or roasting tin. Mix the lemon zest and juice, olive oil and thyme with some pepper, rub all over the chicken, then cover and chill for up to a day.
  2. Get the beans ready by gently frying the pancetta in a pan - you shouldn't need any extra oil if you start it slowly. When the pancetta is golden and crisp, lift it out with a slotted spoon, then add the celery and garlic to the remaining fat in the pan. Gently cook for 10-12 mins until soft. Scrape into a medium-size deep roasting tin or baking dish with the pancetta, butter beans, thyme, wine, stock and plenty of seasoning. Set aside until ready to cook.
  3. Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Transfer the chicken to a rack, breastside up, that will rest above the beans (sit the beans on a large baking sheet if the chicken overhangs at all, to keep your oven clean). Season the chicken with salt and roast for 40-50 mins until the chicken is cooked through - cut into one of the legs to check. Lift the chicken out to rest for 10 mins. If the beans are a bit soupy, transfer to the hob and simmer for a minute to reduce some of the juices - they should still be nice and wet though.
  4. To serve, cut the legs, thighs and wings from the chicken, then thickly carve or tear off the breast in chunks. Check the beans for seasoning, then stir through the parsley and serve with the chicken.
Try

Cook it on the barbecue

Heat the barbecue and cook the chicken for 20-25 mins on each side until golden, crisp and cooked through. If your BBQ has a lid, pull it down. If it doesn't, then upturn a large roasting tin or baking dish over the chicken while it cooks. Meanwhile, cook the beans in the oven as in the recipe, stirring in a splash more stock towards the end if they look at all dry, and adding in any resting juices from the chicken before serving.

Per serving

648 kcalories, protein 64g, carbohydrate 18g, fat 35 g, saturated fat 11g, fibre 6g, sugar 3g, salt 3.67 g

Recipe from Good Food magazine, August 2010.

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Latest comments and suggestions

  • Binder photo Mrs Horse

    07 August 2010

    Mrs Horse commented on this recipe

    Yummy! This turned out perfect!

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  • Binder photo Jezebel

    10 August 2010

    Jezebel commented on this recipe

    I made this at the weekend when my family came to stay. It was very tasty and so easy to make! I served it with roast cherry tomatoes on the vine and green beans. I would recommend buying a pair of poultry scissors though as it can be tricky cutting through the bone. I'll definitely make it again.

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  • Binder photo smallon

    14 August 2010

    smallon rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    Great recipe - very easy to prepare, lovely and tasty. Have made for midweek meal and for a summer Sunday lunch for friends. Can bulk out with some cubed roast potatoes and a green salad if necessary. Lovely

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  • Binder photo Raymond B

    21 September 2010

    Raymond B rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    I made this meal for a summer birthday party for 20 guests. The meal was a total success. It was extremely easy to prepare and the food was excellent, tasty and the left over chicken and beans were server the next day cold with a salad.

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  • Binder photo Helen Edge

    26 November 2010

    Helen Edge rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Excellent meal. The video was so helpful for spatchcocking the chicken. I changed the butter beans for red kidney beans for someone who can't eat butter beans and it was just as good.

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  • Binder photo mamma smith

    05 January 2011

    mamma smith rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Really good chicken recipe. Used chorizo in place of pancetta, otherwise made according to recipe. Will definitely make again, well worth spatchcocking the chicken.

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  • Binder photo wendy

    13 June 2011

    wendy rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    really easy and very tasty - even my husband agreed and he normally won't eat anything with beans in it! i also added small tomatoes, like "Jezebel" and left out the wine (just increased the amount of stock).

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  • Binder photo EmmaB

    16 June 2011

    EmmaB rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    I love this recipe. It is now a regular in our household! Normally serve it with a peppery green salad and roast tomatoes.

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  • Binder photo Yuliya

    31 July 2011

    Yuliya rated this recipe

    5 stars

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  • Binder photo Debbiedooda

    26 September 2011

    Debbiedooda rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I added carrot and red pepper to the beans (cannelini, which is what I had in the cupboard) and that worked well. I left out the pancetta, but cooked the chicken with some streaky bacon over it, then crumbled the bacon into the beans. Next time I'm thinking of putting some breadcrumbs over the beans at the end while the chicken is resting - a bit like a cassoulet.

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  • Binder photo Belkey

    04 May 2012

    Belkey rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    This was fantastic, I could not be bothered to spatchcock my chicken so just rubbed the lemon, olive oil and thyme into the chicken and put the squeezed lemon halves into the chicken cavity. I then roasted the whole chicken over the beans as per the rest of the recipe and it was de-lish-ous!!

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  • Binder photo Bundlebrent

    24 June 2012

    Bundlebrent commented on this recipe

    This made a fab Sunday lunch. I added 2 diced carrots to the celery when doing the beans and this added a nice bit of added colour and sweetness to the dish. The beans were especially nice. We had pea and broad bean and cherry tomato bruschetta to start.

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  • Binder photo Bundlebrent

    24 June 2012

    Bundlebrent rated this recipe

    4 stars

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  • Binder photo sabrina74

    01 July 2012

    sabrina74 rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    oh how i loved the beans!!! im going to use them in a starter either like a brushetta or in an gem lettuce leaf.. liked the chicken, very moist, allowed mine to soak all day in the lemon and thyme.. served with crunchy mixed salad. jacket or new potatoes.

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  • Binder photo Fificooks

    02 September 2012

    Fificooks rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Thank-you bbcgoodfood for the video link to 'How to spatchcock a chicken'- Really useful.

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  • Binder photo Kitty Llama

    09 September 2012

    Kitty Llama rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Made according to recipe, served with a green bean salad. Easy, very tasty, no last minute faffing about and minimal washing up. Everyone enjoyed it and will definitely make again

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  • Binder photo Christine

    09 September 2012

    Christine rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    The smells from the kitchen were topped only by the taste! Took a lot longer to cook than the times suggested but worth the wait.

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  • Binder photo Christine

    15 October 2012

    Christine commented on this recipe

    Delicious but I would say the chicken doesn't cook as quickly as the recipe says.

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  • Binder photo Amanda Skelton

    07 May 2013

    Amanda Skelton rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    This is lovely. I used cannellini beans as I don't like butter beans. We cooked our chicken on the barbecue and it turned out really nice, so much so that my husband invited his parents over 2 days later and asked me to prepare the chicken for him to barbecue again. Will definitely make again.

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Difficulty and servings

Moderately easy

Serves 4 - 6

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 50 mins

Cook time

Cook 1 hr 10 mins

Ingredients

  • 1 large chicken , between 1.5kg-2kg/3lb 5oz - 4lb 8oz, depending on how many you're feeding
  • zest and juice 1 lemon
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • thyme sprigs, some leaves stripped, some sprigs just pulled into pieces

FOR THE BEANS

  • 140g pack cubetti di pancetta
  • 4 celery sticks, very finely chopped
  • 2 fat garlic cloves , sliced
  • 2 x 400g cans butter beans , rinsed and drained
  • 1 thyme sprig
  • small glass white wine (about 125-150ml)
  • 300ml chicken stock
  • small bunch flat-leaf parsley , chopped
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Per serving

648 kcalories, protein 64g, carbohydrate 18g, fat 35 g, saturated fat 11g, fibre 6g, sugar 3g, salt 3.67 g

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