La Crema Winery recently tweeted this recipe by Gabriel Cabrera, and for once it wasn’t the wine that got me Googling and shopping.

It is incredibly quick and easy to prep, just want you want any time of the week. Roast chicken is my go-to weekend comfort dinner and so it was had ASAP with a new twist.

Slightly modified to what was in the house, here’s what I used –

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 whole chicken

1/4 cup wholegrain mustard

2 teaspoons maple syrup

3 garlic cloves crushed

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1/2 tsp chilli powder

1 glug of Frank’s Hot Sauce

Splash of orange juice

Salt and pepper

For the veggies –

4 whole Beetroot

4 large Carrots – or more depending on your guests appetites

Big ol’ handful of Radishes (more for snacking)

Veg marinade –

1/2 a lemon juiced

1 orange juiced

2 tbsp olive oil

Salt and pepper

Method-

I prepped the chicken the night before as advised. The chicken marinade takes all of one minute to put together. I rubbed it all over the skin but then turned the chicken upside down in the dish and covered overnight. The next day, or whenever you’re ready, preheat the over to 400f/ 200c/ gas mark 6.

Prep your veg and toss in the marinade. Leave to tingle and mingle.

The glaze had thickened nicely so I turned the chook back around, re-glazed and put it in the oven for 20 minutes. I don’t know what kind of oven everyone else has but it takes 1.5-2 hours to cook a standard sized chicken in mine, so after the initial 20 mins, I turned it down to 375f/ 175c/ gas mark 4 and left it for the remaining hour and 45 mins or so.

When the chicken is done, remove, cover and put aside to rest. Raise the oven back up to 400f/ 200c/ gm 6. Roast your veg for about 20 mins, so there is a bit of a bite still. Chop your radishes up and toss with the veg and olive oil.

Carve up the chicken and serve with the veg, and lashings of ginger beer! I mean….pinot noir. If you fancy trying the La Crema recommended wine match, O’Brien’s stock it – online link.

Quick blurb – this dish is what got me booted off Masterchef-lol. I misunderstood the floor manager’s instructions and didn’t plate up half the dish in time. It was all cooked but I tried to keep it heated for as long as possible. Oh well! I wasn’t a bit prepared for the next round so even half of this dish was better than what I would’ve attempted if I was put through. Given I only applied because my sweetheart of a sister-in-law sent me the application first thing on a Monday morning and I was happy to distract myself from emails for a half hour, I’m happy I made it that far. It was a lovely experience so all positives in my book.

This is one of my comfort dishes that brings back happy memories of my time learning how to cook in my tiny Dublin 1 apartment. It’s super easy, and not much clean up so perfect for a mid week dinner or a quick meal for friends at the weekend. No shame in breaking out the jar of mint sauce either to keep it extra easy breezy. I buy the pork tenderloin/ steak and freeze it until needed. The rest of the ingredients are usually in the cupboard so no extra trips to the shop needed. Fresh or from a jar, the mint sauce really does make it, so don’t skip it!

Ingredients

• 600g pork tenderloin
• 2 tblsp olive oil
• 15 g butter
• a bunch of mint leaves
• 1 tblsp caster sugar
• 15 ml white wine vinegar
• 25 ml extra virgin olive oil
• pinch of salt
• 2 tblsp tomato purée
• 1 tblsp red wine vinegar
• 1 tblsp soy sauce
• 1 tblsp honey
• 100 g butter beans (tinned)
• 100 g garden peas (tinned)
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1-2 tbsp olive oil
• 70 g smokey bacon bits/ lardons/ prosciutto

Method

• Remove any sinew from the pork. Add the olive oil and butter to a large frying pan.
• Season the pork and fry, sealing each side over a medium heat until nearly fully cooked through. Add the bacon bits/ chopped bacon to the same pan and fry until crisp. Set the bacon aside in a mixing bowl.
• Prepare the glaze, mixing the purée, soy, red wine vinegar & honey. Set aside.
• Preheat the oven to 200 deg. Add the mint leaves to a pestle and mortar, followed by the caster sugar, grind into a paste. Then add the white wine vinegar, pinch of salt and olive oil and mix well.
• Transfer the pork to the roasting tray, pour the glaze over and oven roast to thicken the glaze and coat the meat. Drain the peas and beans and add to boiling salted water. Heat for 2-3 minutes and drain fully.
• Chop the garlic cloves, add to the pea and bean mix. Season to taste. Leave the pork to rest for two minutes while prepping to plate up.
• Serve with pan juices followed by the mint sauce drizzled over the meat.