Roast chicken with dill and leeks recipe . By Diana Henry.

Roast chicken with dill and leeks recipe - Telegraph
Simple, satisfying and perfect for Sunday lunch: whole roast chicken infused with dill and lemon, cooked with waxy potatoes
You might think this recipe comes from Scandinavia – land of dill lovers – but in fact it was inspired by a dish I had in Turkey, where whole fish were cooked on a bed of potatoes and dill (and a little raki). This is a very comforting dish, but light and spring-like at the same time. Serve it with roast tomatoes or a carrot purée.
SERVES
8
INGREDIENTS
2kg chicken
10g dill
75g unsalted butter, slightly softened
1 lemon
500g waxy potatoes, peeled
4 leeks
400ml chicken stock
3-4 tbsp dry vermouth
4 tbsp crème fraîche (optional)
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 200°C/gas mark 6. Remove the coarser stems from the dill and set them aside. Roughly chop the remaining light, leafy part. Mash the butter with half the chopped dill.
Carefully lift the skin of the chicken breast and legs and push about half the butter under. Spread the remaining butter over the bird and season. Put in a roasting tin or a flame- and ovenproof dish. Squeeze the lemon over, then put the shells into the cavity of the bird with the dill stalks. Truss the chicken, if you like. Roast for 20 minutes.
Slice the potatoes to the thickness of a pound coin. Trim the leeks, discarding most of the dark-green tops. Chop into 4cm lengths and wash thoroughly.
Take the chicken out of the oven and put the potatoes and leeks around it, coating them in the juices. Season. Pour the boiling stock on to the vegetables with the vermouth.
Reduce the temperature to 180°C/gas mark 4 and return the bird to the oven for one hour. The potatoes will become tender and the cooking liquid reduce significantly. If the vegetables haven’t absorbed all the liquid, remove the chicken to a warmed platter and insulate with foil to keep it warm.
Set the roasting tin on the hob and boil until the liquid mostly disappears. Add the crème fraîche, if using. Heat this through – it doesn’t have to be completely mixed into the vegetables. Check for seasoning.
Put the bird back on top of the vegetables, throw on the rest of the chopped dill and serve.